A Spike
by defga
Summary: Clark meets a new hero with a different sense of justice. Will Clark try to turn Spike into an upstanding citizen, or will he accept that there are different forms of justice? ...
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Spike

Summary: Clark meets a new "friend" whose intentions are questionable, and realizes the potential darkness in everybody.

Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville or Superman related. (I wish I did  )

Continuity: In an alternate universe in the beginning of Season Six after Sneeze, but Oliver Queen never came to Smallville.

Rating: T for mild language (NO "F" bombs or "S" words), graphic imagery

This is my first attempt at a fan fic and I have absolutely no idea how long it will be or if it will be an ever-continuing story. The concept I made up a while back and I have thought of some pretty cool ideas since then. The original story that I had in mind was only about Spike and all new characters, but it's simple to center the story around Clark and still have the great character that is Spike Starkum.

Ch. 1 Secret Origins Part 1

On his way to class, Spike Starkum noticed for the first time how easy it is to become like the father. Even after basing his entire life on doing what he wants and being his own man, he still did not fall far from the tree. After passing AP Physics and Biology by the end of freshman year of high school and moving on advanced science at Partheis University, it's difficult to not see that he is destined to follow in his father's footsteps.

Being one of the foremost leader scientists in the nation on human biology and bio-chemistry, it was not easy for Frank Starkum to settle down with the right person. One would think that he would have more government contracts and research grants than he could handle, but being involved in a multi-million dollar draining explosion can have its consequences. Even though it was the bane of his family's existence, he Spike still knew very little about what actually happened except that his father was partnered with all of the biggest nerds in the world to do some project and then they all ended up with unemployment after some unexpected results. Even though it was his father's fault, the phrase guilty by association summed up what happened to his dad. Luckily they found a job at a research facility in Orange County, California, but it was still a long ways away from their good old home in New York. Even though he is gone a bulk of the time, he still makes time for his family in order to defy the stereotypical hard-working father image.

Mrs. Stacey Starkum may appear to be an average housewife, but she is greatly under credited for her character and strength. Without her at Frank's side after the accident, he might never have gotten back on his feet. It also takes a lot to raise a son whose IQ weight are the same (165). Unfortunately after having Spike, they could not have anymore kids which would have been a great upset for anybody else, but she put everything she had into raising Spike to be the embodiment compassion.

As he reached the university grounds, he once again felt the strange sensation of being a 16 year old in big kid's world. Despite being ridiculed for his name, he was well received at the school, mainly because his classmates did not have much to brag about either. Looking around your classroom and seeing people up to a decade older than you with glasses, a laptop, and a pocket protector can be very damaging to one's self-esteem. Despite being in the world of uncool, he continually rises above those obstacles with the love and support of his parents.

_Just another day at the office_ Spike thought as he walked in his classroom. Little does he know that his day about to get, … unusual.

"Morning Professor," Spike casually stated as he walked by his professor's desk. Due to not knowing Mr. Harper's first name, Spike calls him professor every day. Eventually they both got used to it and even outside of class, that is what he refers to his as.

"How ya doin' Spike," Professor Harper questioned as he briefly looked up and smiled a casual smile.

_Damn!_ How does he do that? No matter what the situation or how many people are around, there has always been some sort of connection between him and the Professor. It's nothing obvious, but whenever he talks to him, it feels like he knew him before he ever came to this school, or like he there's something that the Professor knows that he doesn't. But, as always, he shrugs it off and takes a seat.

Unbeknownst to Spike, a reaction is occurring in his body and it is about to get a major shock to it's system. _What the heck_ was all that he could think of as he felt a sharp pain in his left rib. Feels like a match burning right next to me. Then …, nothing, all gone. "Pheww," he muttered under his breath. _That was weird._ He doesn't even know the half of it.

To be continued…

For all those who want to know, "Where's Clark?" He's coming very soon and please leave comments if you like.


	2. Chapter 2

I decided to change this story into a non-alternate universe one with Clark still meeting Green Arrow and it starts in Smallville after Static. It doesn't affect chapter 1 though so it's just an update.

Smallville

"Come on Chloe, I seriously doubt that the guy at the guy is some freak from California. This guy acted like he knew exactly who I was and he definitely knew who that phantom was. I just find it hard to believe that some phenomenon in a different state is related to this," Clark commented into his phone, pulling up to the Talon from a not so hard day's work on the farm. After running into a bloodthirsty phantom in Seattle, even Clark needs a break from the life of the hero and just relax for a while. Unfortunately, whenever he adopts this philosophy, some international crisis occurs and pulls him into some fight again.

"Seriously Clark, there have been multiple reportings of something- propelling itself through the sky." When one sees as many phenomenons and freaks as Chloe has, it's rather difficult not to believe in a flying man. After all, she already knows of four people who have. One being a girl-turned-Kryptonian, the other being a the mad General Zod of Krypton as he took over Lex, thirdly everybody's favorite Smallville alien, and then there's the last super powered individual who easily killed a phantom to save Clark followed by a miraculous flight into the distance. "You have to admit, being a person who has flown around the world in minutes, that it is possible to go from California to Washington in not a lot time."

"Despite the possibility and your undeniable, and irrefutable logic," Clark commentated sarcastically, "it was probably just a bird or a plane or something. I take it that you've looked into all possible candidates for the ability of flight," Clark said to get it out of the way. _Of course you have, you're Chloe. You practically have the power of research._

"You know me, never giving up a chance to pull an all-nighter followed by ten lattes and finally figuring it out in the nick of time for you to speed to the rescue." _How true that is. I wonder why I always show up just as a person is about to be shot or thrown over an edge. I never get there when things are peaceful. Then again, it is just like fate to give me a chance to mope about what could have happened if I wasn't there._ "And why should this time be any different; I found reports of a kid who was hit a bird with his car one and a half miles from Crater Lake and a man who has spent his entire life trains birds in Topeka only to be poisoned to death by one two years ago, but neither seem to be likely candidates."

"Sorry Chloe, got to go. I'm going into the Talon," Clark declared as he opened the door to the Talon. " I'll come by the Planet later and we can continue this very … interesting, conversation later."

"Okay bye. But Lois and I are going to a Shark's game tonight so it'll have to be quick."

_And they didn't invite, what a surprise. Then again, I always enjoy Lois' constant insults and ranting about how much of a loser I am._ "Don't worry, I get the feeling that I won't have to worry about getting there fast," he closed with as he shut his phone. _Ah, the good old Talon. Owned by the two women in my life who I love more than anything. And yet again, fate pits me against Lex for something of mine that he wants. Why couldn't I have been like Lois and just say how I feel. _Ugghhh, he shuddered at the thought of wanting to be more like Lois as he walked up to the counter and ordered.

After getting his drink and taking a seat near one of the poles with the Egyptian hieroglyphics, he started slugging down his coffee. _Many fond memories_ he thought as he watched people innocently walk around the building, ignorant of the fact that there is an intergalactic traveler amongst them. _Wow, nobody that I know. Must be a busy day for everybody._ One of the downsides to super hearing is that it is difficult not to hear other private conversation. No matter how hard Clark tries, he cannot always turn off his ultimate eavesdropping weapon. After succumbing to his need for knowledge, he takes a quick sweep of the area for anything interesting but not personal. After transitioning through conversations about sports, coffee, homework, and a struggling relationship, he finally picked up on a heated argument between two men at the counter. _"Maybe you better cool off until you get over your hangover,"_ Clark heard wondering if it would lead to violence. The supposedly drunk man, Clark observed, is in a rugged, white t-shirt with black oil smears around the stomach and wearing tattered jeans. The other guy is in a thick, green sweatshirt and dark pants. He also looked as though he hadn't shaved or had a haircut in weeks. Neither one of them looks like they are over 25 or have life going well for them. Considering that this is Smallville, arguments are usually solved in attempt-of-murders or blackmail. _"Look man, I don't like you," _the other guy said, _"and I think that you better leave before there's trouble." Of course_ Clark thought, _why should this situation be any different. _Preparing to intervene if the situation got any worse, Clark heard from the victim, _"Look man, all I did is order a coffee and sit down, I what's your problem with me?"_ _"That's it, I gave you a chance," _the drunken one said as he stood up and grabbed the victim by the shirt.

Suddenly this argument is not just a private one and everybody, including Clark could see what was happening. Moving in on the potential fight, Clark realized that while everybody's watching, he cannot do anything even remotely super. _Why couldn't they just be in an alleyway? Now I need to take it very easy on them._ Unfortunately, the fight had already begun with the drunken one sucker-punching the victim with a left hook to the jaw. The impact alone brings the victim to the floor _Got to stop it._ The antagonist then followed with a kick to the side that, surprisingly, brought out only a huff in the green-sweatshirt-wearing man. _Getting closer and closer. Wish I could superspeed now. _Then the tables turn, after the man on the floor catches a follow-up kick to the gut, followed by an impossible bounce and return to his feet. Due to the high-alcohol levels, the antagonist barely registered that he did not connect with his attack until he had an iron hard knee in his gut. _So much for being the victim. Just half a second more. _To end the quarrel, the man in the green sweatshirt uppercut the drunken one in the base of the jaw with enough raw strength to throw the man onto the counter. By the time Clark reaches the fight, it is over, but just as quick as he became the victim, the man in the sweatshirt became the attacker. Ramming his knuckles into the drunken one's nose resulted in a minor red smear on his knuckles. Before he could bring down another blow, Clark grabs the current attacker followed up by a light throw onto the floor. After turning to check up on the status of the man bleeding on the counter, to Clark's surprise, the man on the floor is no longer there. _Great. Now I have to find him, stop him, and convince him to turn himself in._

Making his way through the audience that had been created to watch the quarrel, Clark finally reaches the exit, outside, and notices a trace of a foot going around the corner. On the other side, the man on the run turns his head to make sure that he is not being observed and then looks forward once again to continue, only to see the guy in the red and blue clothes that stopped him. "Out of my way, man. You do not want to do this," he bellowed in a voice that sounded like the user usually got his way.

"Look, we can talk about this. Just stop running and the police will sort this out. You'll be fine," Clark reassures him just as he usually does. Unfortunately, this occurrence is not successful he notices as he sees the man coming at him. _Here we go_ Clark thinks going through his game plan, _let him attack, block it and pretend to be strained, toss him aside, then watch him until the police come._ As expected, the sweatshirted man comes at Clark with a stance of an experienced fighter and throws a right hook, _block and grab,_ but as Clark reaches for the man's wrist, he realizes that his own wrist has been grabbed by the man. _What the…_ is all that Clark can think of before being grabbed by his shirt with the other hand, spun around to the man's left by 90 degrees, and hurled across the alley fifteen feet into the wall with a great impact. _OK, I guess that I need to bring up my game. _Realizing that this is not normal, Clark stands up, but is greeted with only an empty alleyway. By the time he gets up, Spike is half –a-mile away.


	3. Chapter 3

_2 weeks later…_

"I'm still having a difficult time seeing Lois with Oliver Queen," Clark commented to Chloe. After finishing most of his chores, Clark had gone to the Daily Planet to see if Chloe had any new leads on any Zoners. There had not been any signs of any creatures from the Phantom Zone recently, but when you can run across the state in minutes, asking in person would be better. Eventually the conversation twisted into Lois' current love-life, a topic that usually disturbed Clark more than it interested him.

"Well, if you're going to look for love, why not go after the guy with a multi-billion dollar company and more failed love attempts than Henry the eighth?" Chloe snarked as she logged out of her computer. "Don't tell me you're jealous." This was followed by a perfected blank stare by the Man of Steel. _Why do she always have to make me feel awkward._ Clark moved aside as a janitor walked between them whistling to some unidentifiable tune. "You haven't had any luck finding that one guy who managed to outdo our favorite hero, did you?" she asked referring to the unknown assailant in the Talon who managed to throw Clark fifteen feet into a wall.

"No. I get the feeling that he just took off and left. None of the other meteor freaks ever just left, they always had some unfinished business or wanted another shot at me. I guess you can't get'em all." After grabbing her things and checking her phone, Chloe and Clark started walking out towards the stairs when Chloe's phone started ringing. "All right, hold on. I'll be right there," Chloe said as she slowly walked off. "Hello!? Jimmy!" she said in an excited yet in control voice. The rest was inaudible to Clark as she walked off. _Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy. What kind of plan are you hatching now on our favorite reporter_ Clark thought as he turned his head to the stairs and noticed the same janitor looking at him. Upon realizing that Clark was looking at him, the janitor continued with his mopping as if nothing happened. _Wait a minute. That's…_, before he could finish a thought the janitor picked up his mop and bucket and started striding up the stairs towards the exit. _Not this time, _was all that he could think before his speed kicked into gear and he checked to see Chloe turned around still on the phone, and everybody too deep into their work to notice as he sped up the stairs and in front of the man without stopping. After confirming to himself that it was him, apparently going by John Smith according to his name tag, he kept up his speed until he was out on the front and around the corner where nobody was watching.

_Please come my way,_ Clark thought as he saw the unknown janitor come out. Fortunately for Clark, he turned left and started walking right towards Clark's concealed location behind the corner. As soon as he passed into Clark's view, he stepped out in front of him with a stern expression. "Going somewhere?"

"Out of my way man, I don't want to hurt you again." He said in a deep commanding voice. Clark assumed from the tone that he was deepening it for the fear-inducing effect. _He's going to have to do better than that, and no mistakes this time._

"Listen, we can talk about this, you don't have to run. I want to help," Clark pleaded to the man as he noticed his opponent's hand being clenched. _I don't want to hurt you._

"No, you listen! You don't want to know me, alright. Just leave me alone and forget I ever existed. You'll be better off," he claimed as he attempted to walk past Clark, only to be grabbed by his shoulder. _Whoah. He's almost got the muscles to actually throw me like he did_ Clark thought as he grabbed the man's shoulder.

"I've helped people like you before OK, and running is not the answer, trust me." _Come on, let me help._

"You don't know anything about me and you don't want to, now get the hell out of my way," he threatened as he shrugged off Clark's grasp.

"Let me be the judge of that. I've had more than my fair share of problems in the past and maybe I can help you," Clark offered, "if you want it," he added to ease the situation.

----. Nothing. No response. Just a blank stare. He at least looked like he was considering it. "Look," he said as he walked into the alleyway with Clark following. "You don't want to know me. Most people who have tried to help me before are either dead or hurt because of me."

"I don't think that you'll have to worry about that," Clark insinuated, hoping that this does not raise any suspicion about himself.

"That's what they all said."

"OHHHH MY GO------- " shrieked an unidentified voice of terror in the distance, followed by both men turning their heads toward the end of the alley. The voice appeared to be coming from around the corner. Both, seemingly on instinct, sprinted off towards the source of the scream intent on saving the victim. _I could speed their, _both of them thought simultaneously, _but he's here._ Rounding the corner, neither of them even panting, they noticed a woman on the floor at the wrong end of a gun. The attacker appeared to be thirty years old with lengthy hair and the look of a bum. He was holding, what appeared to be the woman's purse.

"Get away from her," Clark bellowed as a warning as he stopped noticing the gun. Before Clark even finished the would-be janitor was upon the bum a kick to the wrist, forcing him to drop the firearm. This was followed by a right hook to the jaw and a knee to the gut that knocked the bum back wobbling. But the bum was resilient and returned with a straight, amateur, throw towards the "janitor" 's face. Unsuccessfully he met the palm of the woman's defender and became acquainted with his fist once more, sending him down in defeat. _Well, that was easy_, Clark reflected as he approached the fallen woman. _I guess that I'm not always needed._

"Get the hell out of here," the janitor ordered. "I don't want to ever see your face again." As cliché as it sounds, the bum exited the alleyway hobbling in pain. The janitor then turned, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Thank you," the female victim responded in sincerity. Outside of the man's view, the bum turned and unveiled a hidden, single-shot firearm, aimed, and fired upon his previous attacker.

"NO!" Clark stated as sped between the bullet and the man, and waited. As unfortunate as it is, the man turned to witness the bullet impact on Clark's chest and reflect into the pavement. _Crap_, Clark mentally quoted as he realized that his secret was out to this stranger. Upon turning around to inspect the two, the woman showed no sign of seeing a man take a bullet, but startled at the sound of a gun shot.

Looking in awe with little comprehension of what happened, the man looked Clark in the eye and commented, "This really changes things. Name's Spike, Spike Starkum."


	4. Chapter 4

CH 4 tête-à-tête

Metropolis Fresh Coffee

"Sooooooo-," Spike said attempting to break the ice. Clark and Spike had both ordered a latte at the nearest coffee shop, but neither one had said a word until Spike started the conversation. Clark noticed from Spike's uncomfortable tone and posture that he was not used to making discussion with other people.

"So…what?" Clark asked in genuine curiosity. "Do you want to show and tell or would you like me to just ask the questions?" Clark questioned with a defensive tone. Even around people who he trusted, he always felt slightly uncomfortable discussing his abilities. Talking to a complete stranger about it requires him to control the conversation.

"All right," Spike responded in a sarcastically joyful tone. "My abilities are the result of genetic tampering. My father was a genetic research scientist who accidentally was exposed radioactive compounds in a lab accident. He turned out fine and normal, but he unknowingly passed on to me some kind of all new super-DNA." He paused to gauge Clark's response, which was unusually calm and understanding compared to what he expected. Despite Clark's façade of tranquility, he was still nervous of this new visitor. Most super-powered people that he met did not end up fighting the good fight.

"So you were born with superior strength?" Clark confirmed.

"Not exactly. First of all, my abilities did not manifest until some years ago. Secondly, my abilities exceed beyond great strength." Spike paused to gather himself. Clark on the other hand was racing through his mind what the limits of this guy could be.

_I've got countless abilities at my disposal_ Clark thought. _That's what gives me an edge in combat. Please be lower-level abilities._

Spike leaned over the table to avoid pondering ears and quietly added, "I can manipulate the density of myself and other objects. I even have a theory that I have an influence on gravitational pulls." Clark looked at him with a look of perplexity. _Hmph_ Spike thought to himself. _Scared the crap out of him._

"So you didn't throw me with your strength, you decreased my weight and just tossed me aside. Huh," Clark muttered. _So that's why I hurt when he barely touched me._

"I have found so many applications for my skills," Spike continued enthusiastically. It was apparent that he did not often get to gloat over his special skills. "I can throw the heaviest of things with ease if I can hold onto it long enough to affect it, but once it's in the air for a second or so, I reverts back to it's natural state. Imagine the impact of a pick-up flying into something faster than a baseball pitch," he bragged implying that it would not be the first time he had done it if he did it right then.

_I sincerely hope he's not referencing when he did this on a person_ Clark thought.

"And here's my favorite: I can fly at supersonic speeds." Clark took a moment to gather all that he had learned. Fortunately, he had seen stranger things. "All right boyscout, your turn."

_Why does everybody call me that._ In an attempt to convey that he would rather not talk too much about himself, Clark stated, "I was kind of born this way. I have bulletproof skin." He stopped to consider how much he wanted to tell. "-and I can throw pick-ups around with just my natural strength." _Should I tell him everything. … No._

"Is that all?" Spike asked like this was nothing.

"Yeah," Clark answered, feeling very guilty about asking for the full truth from Spike and not returning the favor.

"Do you always go around saving damsels in distress or this your first time?"

"I've had my fair share. It's kind of hard not to when you've got some amazing gifts." _More than you know _Clark thought. "So, why are you in Metropolis, and Smallville for that matter?"

"Try and think of the most powerful man who lives in both places," Spike riddled.

"Lex," Clark said without a moment's hesitation.

"Wow. You and a billionaire; best buds. Imagine my surprise."

"How'd you know we **were** friends?" Clark asked, emphasizing the 'were'.

"How many people refer to Bill Gates as Bill. Not to mention the scornful tone you had." Clark shrugged, realizing that Spike must have had experience with reading people's faces before.

"What do want with him?" Clark asked, expecting one of a billion different answers, nine-hundred million of them being negative.

Spike looked down at the floor with a regretful expression on his, usually blank, face. Clark recognized when a person was dredging up bad memories. Without removing his gaze from the floor, Spike replied monotonously, "I had a professor." He looked up in remembrance. "Come to think of it, I usually just called him professor."

_I don't like where this is going_ Clark contemplated.

"He was the first one to figure out about my abilities. One day in class, I had an odd pain in my stomach, but I thought little of it. On my way out of class, after everybody had left except him, I tripped on the last step of a stairs and never hit the ground." He stopped for a moment to compose himself. His face turned red with grief, and it was evident that he was forcefully holding back tears. "I looked down, and realized that my feet were in the air, as was the rest of my body. My professor looked at me in shock, but in admiration. I thought I was a freak, but he assured me that this was a gift and that I have the potential to affect so many others." Once again he stopped for a moment, his expression implying that was nearing the end. "He helped me to control my abilities and study them after class each day. We expanded on them and figured out how I could manipulate other objects, and I made the fatal flaw of soaring through the skies to be free. LuthorCorp was observing the migration patterns of certain birds in the area for some reason and one of their radars picked me up. He had his security team attempt to capture me at one of my training sessions with my professor, but I got away. As I was getting ready to take off, a trigger-happy thug of Lex's shot a taser at me as my professor jumped between me and it to save me. It pierced his skull and killed him man," he said, no longer able to hold back his tears. "I just kept on flying until I hit Seattle. Didn't even go back to avenge his death. I called my parents to tell them to run-" and then he stopped his story to allow Clark's imagination to continue.

_Oh no. I know how it feels to lose a parent, but two. I just hope that he doesn't plan on taking justice into his own hand_ Clark wished.

"I swear to you Lex and that security team is gonna pay. I've managed to put every one of them behind bars for real or framed charges, except Lex and the guy who killed my professor. They don't get off so easily." Clark looked at him differently than he did when they walked into the coffee shop. Originally, he thought of Spike as just another vigilante with an unquenchable taste for violence, but he now saw into the past of this guy and felt his pain. "I respect you and what you do to protect people, but you don't protect your buddy Lex, he deserves what's coming to him."

For the second time this day, Clark looked at Spike differently. A moment ago he was the tortured soul who had lost all those he care about and had obviously been in the hero business before, but now he was different. Clark could see it in his eyes, REVENGE. This guy would stop at nothing to punish those who had done him wrong. _I need to stop him before he hurts somebody._ "Alright, look. I understand what you're going through, I've lost people I love too, but murder isn't the answer. OK," Clark declared in an attempt to calm him down.

Spike looked Clark in the eye and saw the sincerity of his words. His raged was not diminished by a long shot, but he managed to keep it at bay once again and compose himself. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself from going on. _I need to calm down. I can't allow myself to lose control_ Spike reminded himself. "You're right," he admitted sincerely. Taking a moment to stand up out of his chair, "I have to go."

Clark watched as Spike took a step out of the shop and realized that he needs to keep an eye on this guy. After a quick sweep to make sure that nobody was watching, he kicked on his speed and ran outside to see Spike head down a backstreet. He inched closer, and closer, and closer until he was ten feet away when he realized a flaw in his plan. Spike was above the ground by twenty feet and rocketing towards the sky and speeds near to Clark's. Two seconds later Clark was looking up as a small, barely recognizable as person, form broke the sound barrier and disappeared into the sky.

"BLEEP BLEEP" Clark's cell rang with a "Chloe" on the screen. "What is it Chloe?" Clark asked as he flipped his phone open.

"Clark! This is the first chance that I had to get a hold of you, what happened with our floor-mopping vigilante?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know. He's definitely got an agenda, but I think he wants to do the right thing. I just hope that he doesn't do anything stupid"…

To be continued.

As always, pleaaassseee leave comments.


	5. Chapter 5

CH 5 Gravity (or lack thereof)

_After Labyrinth, Kent Barn, 7:00 PM_

Clark was bailing the hay as he heard his cell ring. The screen said "Chloe." "He Chloe, what's going on?" he asked. This was usually the point where he would have to speed into the Planet or the Talon, but she was not in need of his services today.

"I've put my freak-dar on overdrive recently and I think that we may have a hit. In the past couple of weeks, there have been multiple robberies and break-ins in the Metropolis area. They have been at-" she paused to gather her information from her computer, "Miles Monroy's in the slums, Cole Pietro's office in Downtown Metropolis, Dustin Harper's apartment, and the list is almost endless." She stopped and expected a response from the line, but received none. She then realized that she forgot to deliver the common theme, "They're all highly secure buildings and each of them has a connection to, low and behold, LuthorCorp."

"Chloe, those break-ins could be anything. Not every crime is from somebody meteor-infected." Despite admitting this, he knew that in Smallville and Metropolis, they usually were.

"Yeah but here's the thing, Pietro's apartment is 30 stories high with a city-view. No security picked up anybody coming towards or through the door. You and Bart are the only one's that I know of that could have done this and gotten away with it and I already confirmed with Bart that it wasn't him."

"Well it wasn't me Chloe," Clark defended. He put down the last bale of hay and sat on it to concentrate on the conversation.

"Look, I'm not accusing you, but I'm just saying that besides you two, there's nobody el-." She stopped mid-sentence with a revelation. "Actually there is one other," she added, assuming that Clark would catch her drift.

"Spike," Clark responded after a moments thought. "Considering that he wants to bring Lex down and that he doesn't have any problems with heights, that gives us motive and means." This was something that the late Sheriff Adams once reminded him of always finding before pointing fingers. "So kinds of things are he taking?"

"I don't know, it's not specified, but some of these people got banged up in confrontations with him. He must be looking for something important."

"From what I know of him," Clark informed her, "he wouldn't need very much motivation to put people in a hospital. It could just be something of little importance and these people were unfortunate enough to get in his way." _What's he up to _Clark pondered. "Any idea where he'll strike next?" Clark asked, expecting a 'Come on, you know me' from Chloe.

"Clark, you aught to know me by know." Clark chuckled to himself on the other end. "Almost all of them graduated with degrees in Genetics and Biology, while the rest worked in military relations to LuthorCorp, and all of them have been placed on seriously to-secret projects in the last year. I managed to find three other LuthorCorp employees with similar backgrounds, and since two of them were let go since then, that leaves us with a certain Brittany Hope."

"Where does she live? She could be in danger," Clark asked in his usual, safety first response.

"I have a current address at 282 Midway Avenue, Room 520C. It's an apartment building." SWOOSH was all she heard as the call ended. _Clark to the rescue again_ Chloe thought with admiration.

Clark arrived at the building within moments, and soon he was at the door of Room 520C. After a failed attempt to turn the doorknob, Clark pushed the lock out of its space, but made sure to not push it all the way out. As he entered quietly, he noticed a breeze and saw that the sliding-glass window was open. He shut the door silently. The lights were out, but he saw perfectly fine. As he walked into the kitchen area, he overheard a familiar voice, "Alright, now were even. I've gone out of my way long enough to do you these favors already." The voice paused, apparently listening to another unidentified person on the other end of a phone. Clark attempted to pick up the conversation with his hearing, but the other voice stopped before he could listen in. "No, I'm sorry but I'm not interested in your team," the man in the room responded. "Best of luck to you guys though, all right, bye," he finished very abrupt and rudely without allowing the person on the other line to respond. "What's up Boyscout?" the man, now identified as Spike, asked without turning around.

"How'd you know I was here?" Clark asked, believing himself to have been very quiet as he entered.

"You breathe heavily," Spike responded turning around and closing his phone. "I take it Sullivan, or shall I say Watchtower, pointed you in my direction," Spike stated, with more of conviction than of questioning.

"How'd you know about that, or her codename?" Clark asked defensively. _The last thing that I need is Chloe getting involved in this._

"Our mutual fleet-footed, and very hungry friend likes to brag of how he refused to give up Green Arrow in that 33.1 facility. Somewhere along the-"

"Wait a minute, you know Ba-" Clark caught himself before he gave away a secret identity. "You know Impulse and Green Arrow?" Clark asked. _When did this happen_ Clark thought to himself.

"Yeah. Long story short, Green Arrow saved my ass when I tried to play hero in a hostage crisis and I volunteered to gather intelligence on 33.1 facilities."

"Did Bart know about you doing this?" Clark asked to find out if Bart lied to Chloe or not.

"Nah, we just met when G A showed me their headquarters."

Clark shook his head, realizing how far off topic they had gone. _I wonder if he deliberately changed the conversation or not._ "So all the places that you've broken into, they were to find out about 33.1 facilities?"

"Yeah. You think I was just stealing these for fun?" Spike asked as he started pacing towards the window.

"No matter how important this information is, I know that you could have done it without hurting all of those people," Clark convicted as he moved to stand between Spike and the window.

"They put up a fight. I'm just sending a message to Luthor, okay. I'm letting him know that the fight's coming to him soon," Spike retorted in frustration. "Anyways…" he said and paused. The next thing Clark saw was Spike woosh around him so that he was one foot away from the door. Clark noticed as he did this that Spike did not run, but rather levitated an inch off the ground as he went around him. He was also nowhere near as fast as Clark or Bart, but he was fast. "-I got a little something out of it too," he said with a smile as he held up a flash drive. Clark turned and eyed the flash drive. "Names and backgrounds on every security-man to ever go after a gifted person. I picked up some files here and there, this place had the last part of the names that I needed. The guy who took my loved one's is finally gonna get justice."

"You mean whatever you think it takes to make you feel better, right?" Clark asked accusingly.

"Look," Spike said as he put the drive back in his jacket pocket, "I told you that I'm not killing anybody and I won't." Clark looked him in the eye, but was not able to read his face. He then listened in to Spike's heartbeat, which was slightly high, but he could still be telling the truth. "I'm out of here so-" BAM. The door came crashing down and two men armed with AK-47's. The second they entered, they began to unload their clips towards the two unidentifiable figures. As the bullets came in succession, Clark activated his speed and ran towards Spike alongside 4 bullets. He swatted the first two away and watched as they flew off in harmless directions. He then turned up his speed and hit the third bullet as it reached one foot away from Spike. Clark looked forward to see Spike's body moving at a fraction of his speed, and not fast enough. Clark put his speed in full gear as the bullet was one inch away from Spikes lung and he managed to grasp Spike. Unfortunately, at the rate of Clark's acceleration, it was impossible to put on the brakes. _Oh no!_ Clark thought to himself as he realized that he was crashing through the glass with Spike in tow. As soon as they were out the window, their momentum was the only thing keeping them from falling straight down. The moment Clark's feet left the floor, he was returned to normal reaction speed as the two of them flew over the street and building across from the apartment building. _Got to time this right and take the brunt of the fall_ Clark thought as they began spiraling towards the ground, moving faster with each second. Soon Clark realized that Spike grabbed on to his jacket. _What's he doing_ Clark wondered. _Ahhh_ he realized as they fall leveled out and they seemingly defied gravity. Their speed remained constant, but they were now moving perpendicular to the streets with no signs of coming down. After merely a few moments, they were on the other side of Metropolis. Spike then reverted from his flat position to being upright, while holding Clark up by his jacket. They soon came down on a rooftop as Spike let go of Clark. Spike soon followed with a much more controlled landing.

"First airplaneless flight?" Spike asked shrugging his shoulder.

"Not really actually," Clark responded while remembering his short flight with Kara, his own as Kal-El, and even with Zod earlier in the year. Spike looked at Clark with a doubtful expression, but decided not to press the subject.

"Those were LuthorCorp muscle in the apartment, Lex must have put the dots together like Sullivan. I guess you know what this means?" Spike inquired.

Clark shrugged, trying to think of a rational response to Lex's actions.

"We return the favor." With that Spike disappeared into the night sky before Clark could do anything.

_1 hour later, LuthorCorp Plaza, Lex Luthor's office_

"What do you mean he got away?" Lex yelled into his phone. "I don't pay you to scare people I put them in the morgue." He waited as he listened to the response. "I don't care if he had an accomplice, you do whatever it takes to finish the job!" Lex yelled as he hung up. _Morons._ Lex turned to his computer and noticed a large shadow looming over his office. As he turned, he noticed an impossible feat. A man levitating outside his window with a car held over his head. "Oh my go-" Lex yelled as the car came hurling at him through the window. He barely jumped to the side of his office as the car came crashing through the window, sending glass shrapnel everywhere. If not for Lex jumping behind his antique collection table, he would have fell victim to the shrapnel and the vehicle. As the car hit the floor of the office it obliterated Lex's desk and computer and slid with a screech until it hit the opposite wall. Lex got up from behind his barricade as he saw the figure disappear into the darkness. He felt a draft from the now exposed office. All but the items near the walls had been destroyed due to the recent projectile. Lex walked over to where the window once was, and looked out in a hopeless attempt to find the figure. He laughed quietly to himself as wiped off a streak of blood emanating from his lip. "Is that all you got?" Lex asked to nobody. "Spike."

thanks for reading, please leave comments


	6. Chapter 6

CH 6 Q & A

_Kent Farm, Kitchen, Next Day, 10:00PM_

**LUTHORCORP OFFICE UNDERGOING REDESIGN – Despite the rumored reports of an explosion or crash in the Lex Luthor's office, these rumors have been denied by LuthorCorp. The disturbance yesterday has been confirmed to be the result of loud reconstruction and LuthorCorp apologizes for any worry or commotion it may have caused…** Clark placed the newspaper article down on the counter, knowing that it was not worth reading if it were not true. Lex was still alive, which meant that Spike either tried and failed to kill him, or he wasn't trying hard. _Lex's payroll's probably working double to clean up whatever really happened last night._ Clark had seen countless people go bad while thinking that they were doing the right thing, but Spike seemed different to Clark. There was not a single trait or action that made him unlike the others, but it was just something in Clark's gut that told him so. It was getting late and Martha had already gone to sleep, so Clark turned put the rest of the pie that he was eating in the fridge and reached to turn off the light-

"You'd think that a story like that would be at least page 2 quality, instead of page 15." The voice came from Spike, leaning on counter behind Clark, seemingly unworried about being an uninvited guest. Clark turned around slowly and picked the newspaper, revealing the article he had just read part of.

"This you?" Clark asked, already knowing the answer to the question.

Spike chuckled to himself as he walked over to the fridge. "The real story would have been splashed all over the front page," he said as opened and looked into the fridge. He then closed the door revealing the rest of the pie that Clark was just eating.

"Something tells me that you would have preferred LEX LUTHOR DEAD as a headline," Clark accused. Apparently Spike minded taking food without asking about as much as he did entering without knocking. He took a large slice and started eating, as though he were starving, which he was. Clark chose to ignore the rudeness for the moment.

"If I wanted him dead, that would have been the headline and I would be as far away as hell as I could get from here. It was just to show him that I'm no pansy and I will push back if pushed."

Clark watched Spike's expression and composure, which implied that he was telling the truth. "Suppose I believe that," Clark stated, "what really happened?"

Spike gulped down a slice of pie and responded, "I figured that since he's got so many cars, why not give him another." Spike paused and added, "I took the liberty of delivering it personally."

Clark understood the cryptic response and realized that he did not have his "guest"'s full attention. He grabbed the plate of pie and pushed it aside. "And what if Lex had happened to not get out of the way?" Clark interrogated.

Spike stared at Clark for a moment and said, "He's Lex Luthor. You told me you knew him. I barely know him," he exclaimed, "and I know that he's not just going to stand there to die." This was followed by a long silence. Clark knew that Spike was right about Lex, and he gathered that Spike truly did not try to kill him. _As of the moment, all he's done is break in to buildings and rough some people up,_ Clark noted to himself. _Both things that I'm far from innocent of. I guess I can drop the interrogation._

"What are you doing here anyways?" Clark asked in a more inquisitive than accusing manner, trying to break the ice.

"I wanted to clear up anything that you weren't sure about and-" He paused, which one would assume was going to be followed by asking for a favor. "I actually need a place to crash for a night. Hotels and motels are too easy to found in if you have somebody with the influence of a Luthor on your tail."

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you chucked a car at him," Clark retorted. Spike stared at Clark, showing him that it's too late now. "We've got a spare room upstairs. Just make sure you stair in there until I tell my mom tomorrow. I'd rather not freak her out if at all possible."

"No prob man. I promise I'll get out of your hair tomorrow." With that, he went upstairs and immediately fell asleep in the guest room. _How did I get into this_ Clark asked himself.

_Next day_

Clark woke up that morning like any other morning, except he was already running through multiple scenarios of how he's going to explain their new guest his mom. After deciding on a feasible story, he walked down stairs and heard something heating. He also recognized the smell of pancakes with toast, eggs, and bacon. This wasn't his mom's usual breakfast meal that she makes. He got down the stairs and walked in the kitchen preparing his speech to his mom when he noticed his mom at the kitchen table and somebody at the oven preparing a large breakfast with his back to Clark. It was Spike.

"You got to heat it up a little extra and let it cool for the crispy sensation that so many people can never achieve," Spike said out loud, assumingly towards Martha, as he flipped a pancake over. Martha smiled as she saw Clark enter in. Clark was thoroughly confused and in need of an explanation.

"Hi sweetie. Your friends quite the adept cook. He made us breakfast," she said to a clueless Clark as he came over to the table.

"Oh," Spike said turning slightly to recognize Clark's presence. "Hey Clark. Hope you don' mind, I took the liberty of preparing breakfast for everybody." Spike went then went back to his cooking as if everything were normal.

Clark turned to his mom. "I got your note, and Spike can stay as long as he needs."

"Note!? I, uhh-" Clark studdered not recalling writing a note.

"Yeah. I told your mom how I met you while interning at the Daily Planet. You know, termites just have to pick the worst time to infest your home." Spike stopped to stare at Clark, attempting to convey the message that he already told his mom a story and just go with it. Clark gave an inconspicuous look as he understood that Spike must have forged a note to his mom about why he was here. _Why couldn't he just stay out of sight and let me handle this_ Clark thought. "Your mom found me mucking the stalls this morning and I offered to show her what a semester of Home Ed. Can teach you for the kitchen." They all noticed a mail-truck drive away from the mailbox.

"I'll get it," Martha said as she got up from the table. "I'm supposed to be getting some paperwork from the governor's office," she added as she went out the door to get the mail.

Clark took this interruption to get up and turn around. "What are you doing? I told you I'd handle it."

"Ahhh. Come on. I did you a favor. I did a lot of your chores and I got the thumbs up from your mom, that's seems like a success to me." Clark decided not to press the situation. He then looked at the pancakes on the pan to make sure that they weren't turning out like Lois' do. Spike followed his eyes and noticed that his cooking skills were being challenged. "I'm not only a hardcore fighter and vigilante you know. I have a civil side and fortunately I've come across one or two farms in my travels. I picked up a few things in being a chef and farmer." Both Clark and Spike noticed Martha making her way back to the house. "I also know how to get on people's good sides easily. Your mom practically begged me to stay. Martha was almost back inside. "By the way, my story for your mom is that I'm friends with Chloe and I met you through her at the Daily Planet yesterday and you offered to let me stay at your place until my house is done fumigating. All right." Clark nodded as Martha returned through the door.

"So what'd you think of that Shark's game yesterday," Clark asked Spike in a very coy manner, pretending to have been talking about nothing while his mom was out.

_Kent Farm, Outside, 1:00PM_

Clark and Spike, who had avoided talking about anything serious for the past few hours, were carrying the cow feed out to the field. The radio was playing in the background. Clark was used to his late dad carrying a little over the normal human's lifting capacity, while he carried ten times what a normal human could. Unlike then, he and Spike were both carrying four or five bags at a time at a quick rate. _Ahh, the life of a farmboy_ Spike thought to himself. _So exciting_ he added sarcastically. They were on the last load when the radio station interrupted with a story about a fire in the Calton's Gorge area in Smallville. Spike looked at Clark for a moment and turned around toward the sky. He raised a hand in the air, giving him a odd look, but was followed by a feat that Clark had seen a few times. Spike rose slowly in the air and leveled out. "You coming?" he asked Clark. In response, Clark dropped his bag of feed and took off his gloves. Taking that as a yes, Spike propelled himself into the skies at speeds unimaginable, followed by the pop of a sonic boom. Clark turned to look at the cows in starvation, knowing that they needed food. _They may not feed themselves, but this is more important_ was the last thought of his before he too disappeared into the distance, only by foot instead of by air. _I wonder if I'll ever learn to fly?_

To be continued…

As always, please post comments.


	7. Chapter 7

CH7 Clash

_Directly following CH6, Calton's Gorge_

_Spike_

The gorge was up in flames. It was not a wildfire out of control, but when lives are on the line, it doesn't matter. Spike was a mile out and about six hundred and fifty-two feet above the streets. Spike had come to know physics, rates, and estimates over time. He calculated that at his current speed, he was only fifteen seconds away, but fifteen seconds could be the difference between life and death for an innocent. _Gotta put on the gas_ he thought as he increased his rate of speed. The faster he flew, the more wind resistance and less control he had in his flight pattern, which was one of his limitations that he constantly pushed. Within moments, he approached the outer edge of the gorge and took in the scene. The fire was slightly larger than a football field, there was a news crew covering the story, and a fire engine pulling up. In a spurt of speed, Spike propelled himself into the fire's grasp in search of survivors.

_Clark_

_Almost there_ Clark thought as he approached the scene of the disaster. He took a brief sweep of the scenery to find Spike or anybody in immediate danger. He could not locate Spike, but the news crew caught his eye. _Last thing I need is to get caught on film_. He then put his superspeed into ignition as started sprinting into the flames. Everything seemed so slow and unusual to Clark, but he had gotten used to this over time. As he ran up to the flames, he continually looked around for anybody in the area, but saw nobody. He quickly entered into the flames, making sure not to slow down and allow his clothes to catch flame. _If anybody's in danger right now, their probably near the flames._ Clark had been in emergency situations countless times and knew that he should check the scene of immediate danger first, and help the others in less danger later. His super breath could have wiped out a large portion of the flames in a puff, but anybody else who was unfortunate enough to get caught in his breath probably would not make it. This left him to running around and finding anybody who needed help. The first person that he noticed was a middle-aged man in hiking gear. Clark assumed that he was hiking and got caught up in this mess. The man was already surrounded by flames, but that was just a minor complication for Clark. With a light breath on one wall of the flames, they disappeared leaving an escape route for the man. "Hey!!! Over here!" Clark yelled waving his hands. The man turned around to see the fire out just enough to escape. Clark noticed the man's shock at the sudden disappearance of the flame, but the man appeared to be more relieved than curious. Clark pointed to the nearest escape route from the gorge and yelled, "Go that way," over the roaring flame. "There's a way out over there!" he yelled in assurance.

"What about you?" the man asked.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." The man nodded, not knowing why Clark was electing to stay. He then went into a sprint to get out of the gorge. Clark turned around to search for anybody else in trouble. With a simple bit of concentration, Clark activated his X-ray vision, which penetrated the flames as if they were not there. As he swept the area, he noticed a female skeleton structure in the distance. She was a child. Clark instantly blurred through the ravine till he reached her. She was lying on the ground in a lifeless posture. Despite this appearance, Clark picked her up and carried her for to a nearby tree away from the fire. He listened in sharply to her and picked up a faint "thump." She was alive! _Must have passed out from the flames. _He picked her up and began the jaunt to safety. As the streets slowly came into view, Clark felt an uncommon sensation in his legs, pain. He never got tired from running or working which meant one thing, kryptonite.

Clark looked down and noticed the typical green glow of a meteor rock. As Clark realized what was happening, he fell to his knees. As he fell he released the unidentified girl onto a soft patch of dirt. He hit the ground with painful force that he was unaccustomed too. _How could I be so reckless?_ Clark recalled that Calton's Gorge was known for its meteor rock load and had even respawned Dawn Stiles as a meteor freak once. Clark grasped at the dirt with his weak hands, trying to get a hold and pull himself away, but to no avail. There was nothing to grip, and Clark could feel the heat of the fire nearing. Despite his unfortunate state of being, the last thought of his before he passed into unconsciousness was a simple request to nobody, _Please let her live._

_Spike_

Spike reached the fire instantaneously, but found nobody in the area. High above the flames, he had a clear view of everything. A news helicopter came overhead, causing Spike to take cover under a tree. _Can't let anybody see my gifts. Luthor will be all over me._ He kept looking around, both looking for somebody who needed his help and hoping that there was nobody. While searching, he thought he saw a line of flame disappear in a gust of wind, revealing a man and Clark. _Looks like he's got that under control._ Convinced that this area was now clear, Spike flew over to the far end of the fire on the other side of the gorge. After reaching the end of the fire, he heard a shriek for help from in the flames. He followed the voice to find a woman, seemingly in her thirties, yelling out for help. The next moment, Spike was behind her in the encompassing flame. The fire had not yet reached either of them, but there was no way out and it was getting closer. "Let me help you!" Spike ordered to her.

The woman turned around, in shock to see anybody else next to her. "My daughter's out there!" she yelled. "I can't leave her!" she shrieked in terror of what might happen to her daughter.

"I'll get your daughter," Spike promised. "But you have to come with me first." Spike held out his hand to offer her his help. She looked back, presumably worried about her daughter, and then took his hand. Spike reached around her waist, in what would have been inappropriate in any other situation, and lifted her off the ground effortlessly. She gasped in shock and amazement of what he did. The flames were nearly upon them as Spike took a running start toward the flame. The woman screamed in belief that he was running them both to their doom. As he reached the fire, he took a stride, a short step, and a leap. This leap would have been impossible for any normal human being, but no rational person would reach the conclusion that it was metahuman. Spike, with the woman in his arms, surpassed the flames in a single bounded and hit the ground with a thud. As he put the woman down, they both continued to run away from the fire. They soon reached a safe point.

The woman leaned over and panted as she pointed back at the fire, "We need to save my daughter," she insisted in a desperate tone.

"All right, I'll go get her. You need to go though." She stared at him for a moment. Spike was able to recognize when a person goes into shock and this was one of those moments. "If you stay here or go back in, your daughter won't have a mom when I get her out." This impacted the woman greatly, finally sinking in that she would have trust this stranger to get her daughter back safely.

"Please, help her," she begged as she turned around to run for the streets.

When the woman was out of sight, Spike turned around and took a leap back to where they came from. This leap did not end though. He continued to soar over the fire until he noticed a guy in a red jacket and a small girl collapsed on the ground. The flames were mere feet away from both of them, and would lead to a very grim death for both of them. As Spike took off towards them, he pondered, _What's wrong with him? I saw him take a bullet and he's hurt by a little heat._ But this meant nothing at the moment, both of these people were in danger and their lives were in Spikes hands. The flames began to sizzle Clark's jacket and envelope him, when Spike appeared from the sky and grabbed both of the people in distress. With his abilities on, it was simple to carry two people across the gorge. _Screw the cameras and press, they need help._ With this in mind, Spike flew out to the edge of the ravine and landed softly. Clark began breath heavily and move as they reached earth. Spike stopped and put Clark down. "You all right man?" he asked.

"Yeah," Clark said as he got up in a dizzy manner. "I don't know what happened," Clark lied.

"Whatever it was, you're lucky I saved your sorry -"

"Where's the girl," Clark interrupted. Spike could tell that Clark was still recovering and probably couldn't see well. The girl was Spike's arms.

"She's fine," Spike assured showing Clark the girl. "She could use a doctor though." With that, he walked onto the streets over to the ambulance. "I need a doctor!" he yelled. An on-sight medic came over and took the girl. "She's all right, but she's having trouble breathing." The press noticed the commotion and came over to find out more about the new hero. Spike looked around and saw Clark walking around in the background, making sure to avoid most of the people. Questions started flying at Spike faster than he could hear, but he ushered them all away saying, "Please, no questions or interviews. Please." One of the cops on the sight caught Spike's situation and came over to him.

"Why don't you come over here?" He gestured towards the yellow-taped area. "The press cannot go in there." Spike accepted the cop's generosity as he walked over to the yellow tape and underneath it. He went over and sat down behind a patrol car, out of the range of the press. The press followed, but the cop stood in front of them saying, "You heard him, he said no questions." With that the cop walked away and back to Spike. He held out a hand of congratulations. "You did a brave thing today sir, thank you."

Spike accepted the hand shake and responded, "Thanks. And the names Kyle, Kyle Harper."

_Lex, Luthor's Limo, Quarter mile away from Spike and the press_

Lex was unhappy. He had just returned from a difficult day at the office, LuthorCorp's board was starting to ask questions about what secret project their funds had been going to, and he was still dealing with what the pregnancy that he had faked upon Lana. Some people consider him the face of evil without remorse or emotion for anybody but himself, and his recent actions could justify that belief. Despite what he had done or was going to do, he justified that the sorrow that he feels for doing them makes him the victim. _Some things have to be done with a tear in your eye_ he thought to himself. His phone rang.

"Sir. We have the target," the voice said in a fearful, yet proud tone.

"You seem awfully pleased about today's events," Lex commented cynical tone. He was far from pleased with what had happened today.

"No sir. I'm just reporting in that the target is no longer a danger and is in the process of being brought back to 33.1 facility Beta." This man was fearful. The secrecy and future of the 33.1 project had been put in jeopardy today and there would be reprimands.

"Al l that this subject could do was generate a little heat and he not only got out, but he started a fire as a cry for help. I get the feeling that I can't trust you with the tougher freaks." _Incompetent. Why couldn't I have been given the ability to duplicate myself instead of that psycho Ian?_

"I understand sir. This is the last time, it won't happen again."

"It better not. I hear the freaks are really becoming hateful of you. It'd be a shame if their leashes were cut with a certain incompetent nearby." Lex closed his phone, without a concern for whatever excuse he may have had. The divider in the limo went down just enough for Lex to see his driver. "How much longer?" Lex asked his driver.

"We're pulling up now sir," the driver responded pulling over to the side of the road.

Lex looked out the window and saw a pair of fire engines and a few patrol vehicles. He got out of the limo, half-expecting the press to come swarming towards him as they usually did. They were too concerned with the fire and the rescue efforts. Lex slowly walked over towards the patrol vehicles as one of the policeman turned around towards Lex.

"Mr. Luthor. What brings you here?" the policeman asked.

"I have a plant a couple miles down the road and I'm checking to see if there's any need for an alarm." Lex did have a plant down the road, but that was not why he was here.

"Well, don't worry sir. The fire has been contained and everybody got out alive," the officer answered enthusiastically.

_Thank goodness_ Lex thought. "Any idea what caused it?" he asked in an attempt to find out how much was truly known.

"No. But it was probably some kids or a campfire left unattended."

"You're sure nobody was hurt or caught in the fire?" Lex looked into the gorge and saw mostly red and orange just consuming it.

"Certain. A girl was almost caught in it, but a brave man went in their and saved her." The officer pointed towards a patrol car with an opened door. There was a young male sitting in the open door with his back to Lex and the officer.

"I'd like to thank him personally if you don't mind."

"Sure-"

_Spike and Lex_

"Hey Kyle!" Spike turned his head slightly, not looking directly at the officer, but acknowledging him. "Somebody would like to thank you." Spike got up and walked over towards the officer, but did not take his eyes off of the firefighters dousing the flames in the ravine. _Maybe I should train to be a firefighter one day_ Spike thought to himself. When he reached the officer he turned his head towards him and stopped. He stared blankly into the eyes of the man who wanted to thank him. Lex stared back at Spike, just as shocked and, for the first time in a while, at a loss of what to do. _What the hell is he here for_ Spike asked himself internally.

_What are the odds of this_ Lex also asked himself. He put out his hand, not only to pretend to show an act of courtesy, but to push Spike's temper. "Well Kyle, we're all lucky that you were here. I'd like to thank you." Lex was loving this. Spike's greatest enemy right in front of him and there was nothing he could do. Lex's hand was still out there, hanging.

_Son of a – _"It's no big deal Mister Luthor," Spike responded, followed by him putting accepting the gesture. At this moment, officer was called away by his partner, but there were still several spectator policeman walking by. "It's awfully kind of you to come all the way out here to help," Spike stated monotonously and without sincerity in his words. As Lex attempted to pull his hand away from the shake, Spike would not have it. He activated his ability and targeted Lex's hand. Usually when he lifts something, he concentrates harder to keep it from becoming unstable, but this time he let his abilities go uninhibited. Lex's hand's internals began to become weightless and heavier in continued succession, resulting in massive inflammation, burning, and mostly pain.

"Ahhh," Lex muttered, trying to conceal his pain as his hand felt like it was going to explode. He kept up his façade smile to not attract attention, while used his other hand pry his burning hand away from Spike's. After a few seconds of extreme pain and an exponentially difficult to hold smile, Lex's hand was removed from the wrath of Spike. Lex panted softly trying to gain his composure as he massaged his injured hand. He looked around and assumed that nobody had observed what had happened. Spike had not smiled or moved during this entire encounter, and showed no sign of anger or pleasure. Lex continued to massage his hand as he became frustrated at his current situation. They were in a stalemate, Lex was unable to assault Spike due to the press and police in the vicinity, and, unbeknownst to Lex, Clark was still there somewhere and would not allow Spike to attack Lex. Lex had had enough of this though and was ready to push back. "I'm sure your parents are very proud of you." He said coldly and without authenticity. He knew that this would crush Spike, and his response supported that.

_----­_. Spike's mind was blank. He had no idea what to do or think. At the same time, his mind was racing. Should he reach over and wring out his scrawny little neck and face the wrath of Clark, should he be strong and not show any sign of distraught, or should he wait for the right moment to enact revenge. The last option seemed the most sensible, but the first was the most appealing. _I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to kill_ was the only thing running through his mind and he stared perplexedly into his arch-nemesis' eyes. He didn't even hear Lex's farewell as he began walking away. All he did was stand there limply, with his eye following Lex until he had gotten into his limo and started pulling away.

_Clark, right after he and Spike separated_

As soon as the medic came to get the girl out of Spike's arms, Clark continued to walk around the vehicles and the crowd. He would usually speed away, but he wanted to make sure Spike was okay and he was still a little weak in the knees from the kryptonite. He found a crowd of spectators to hide in inconspicuously. Fortunately the press had not seen him and they focused on the fire and not the crowd of people watching. Clark watched as Spike was walked away by a police officer, presumably to thank him and check his vitals. For a few minutes Clark stood there and waited, but not for anything in particular. His chores would not take him very long, so he chose to stay and see what happens. After a few more minutes, _everything's under control. I can leave_ Clark decided. Then he saw that infamous black limo show up, Lex. _If those two encounter, this could be bad._ Clark made his way closer to the front, making sure to stay out of view of the limousine. Lex stepped out in his usual controlling, and very suave manner. Clark could only imagine what he was doing here. He watched and listened in as Lex spoke to the officer, confirming that everything was fine. Then the dreaded came, Spike was called over. Clark walked to the back of the crowd this time, to have a more strategic position. He knew how much hatred there was between those two and he might have to intervene. _Less people to run through is better._ He could not see them any more, but he could hear every part of the conversation. He thought he heard Lex wince in pain, but until he had reason to believe that there was going to be an actual attack, he would stay put. "I'm sure your parents are very proud of you," Clark heard Lex say. _That's it!_ Clark went around the crowd, ready to intercede at a second's notice, but Spike took it. He was surprised to see Spike not lash out. With that Lex turned and walked away while Spike stood there in anger and shock. As Lex's limo drove off, Clark saw Spike walk behind an ambulance, out of sight from everybody. Clark took a moment to look around for anybody with their eyes on him, and then he sped around the ambulance to meet up with Spike. Spike was leaning head-first on the vehicle with his head in his head buried in his arm. He was not crying, but he was obviously in sorrow. "Hey," Clark said to reveal his presence. Spike most likely knew he was there anyways, but it was polite. "I heard what he said, how you holding up?"

Spike did not move, but merely responded, "I'm sorry Clark," in a regretful and sincere manner.

"For what?" Clark asked.

"That I can't hold myself to your standards." He turned around towards Clark, who had no idea what he was talking about. "I'm sorry that I have to kill Lex-" Right as soon as he finished he disappeared in burst of speed down the street and around the turn in pursuit of the limo.

_Oh my-_ Clark thought as he put his speed into ignition and pursued Spike. Clark was fast, but Spike had a head start and was closing in on the limo as Clark came up beside Spike, who was above the earth by ten feet. _He must have underestimated my speed_ Clark thought as he took a leap into the air and grabbed a hold of Spike by the chest, dragging him down. Spike was in shock to see anybody able to keep up with him and was taken off guard as the two plummeted back to solid ground. To their right there was a mountain wall and to the left, Calton's Gorge. The limo had just turned another corner behind the mountain wall when the two collided, making it impossible for them to have seen the impact. The two hit the ground hard, but not enough to distract from the tussle. Spike, being the more experience combatant turned the tides and stopped their rolling with him on top holding Clark by his jacket. He followed up his maneuver with a hard right-handed blow to the face. With his disruptive and density altering abilities on, he was able to lower Clark's defenses where he made impact. Along with the great strength behind the punch, the impact on Clark's face was strong enough to make him feel it. Despite the brunt of the attack, Clark had taken far worse from a certain Kryptonian general and retaliated with a shove off. Spike was hurled threw the air but landed with ease, Clark assumed due to his inate ability to fly. _He's not thinking straight_ Clark thought. He knew how that felt. He almost killed Lionel Luthor right before Dark Thursday because he thought that he had killed his dad. Clark needed a word of wisdom from Lionel to stop him from doing it, and that was all Spike needed now. Unfortunately, Spike was no push-over, even to Clark, like Lionel was, and it would take some force to make him listen. With this in mind, Clark sped over towards Spike before he could react and pushed him up against the mountain fall with massive force.

"Ahh-" Spike grunted as he hit. Clark was about to ask tell him to calm down when he saw the look in his eyes. It was the look of competition and the fight, Spike finally had a worthy challenge and he would not accept defeat. In a similar manner to Clark's previous attack, Spike grasped Clark's wrists, activating his abilities, and shoved Clark away into the street. Spike smiled as a trickle of blood fell from the side of his lip. Spike began a charge towards Clark in an aggressive form of combat unknown to Clark. As Spike came sprinting towards Clark with a fury built up over years of pain and suffering, the only thing that came into Clark's mind was, _GAME ON._

Comments and reviews always appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

CH8 Melee

_On road near Calton's Gorge, following CH7_

_Clark_

_GAME ON _Clark thought as Spike began the charge towards him. _This should not be too difficult, just speed behind him and tap him on the head_ Clark strategized as he prepared to execute his plan. Spike was nearly upon him, pulling his arm back for a hard blow. Clark initiated his speed as he attempted to sidestep Spike, but his usual sense of being in a frozen world was not there. He had only moved two steps in the time that he could have ended the fight. Before he could react, Spike delivered the blow and Clark was launched from the ground to the middle of the road, four feet behind where he was, on his back. The impact of hitting the street had no effect, but the wallop from Spike truly hurt. Clark was at a loss for the recent deterioration of his powers, but he postulated that it was a result of his recent exposure to the Kryptonite and his burst of speed afterwards._ Must have burned out after that sprint_. This had happened once before earlier in the year when he overused his abilities and had to rely on his super breath. Fortunately this was not as severe and he had most of his strength, and some speed. After this realization, Clark looked up to see Spike leap the distance in a pouncing manner, with his fist pulled back. Clark rolled aside quickly as Spike's fist connected with the pavement, burrowing it in the asphalt. Spike landed on his feet, but was hunched over with his fist in the ground. Clark reacted much faster this time and arouse to his feet. _All right, time to rely less on my invulnerability and more on not getting hit_ Clark logged away in his mind. As Spike pulled his hand out of the road, Clark came at him with a charge of his own. It was less aggressive than Spike's, and more of a way of getting to Spike before he could react. As he was three feet and closing in, Spike was upright and throwing a right hook at Clark. _Luckily I still have some speed_ Clark thought as he ducked under the attack. _Time to return the favor_ he thought as he pushed out his right arm straight towards Spike's chest. Spike was too quick and sidestepped it to the left, but was left unbalanced and unable make another punch. Clark's arm was to the right of Spike; _Cannot throw a punch from this position, but I can_- Clark thought as he grabbed Spike's jacket. Before Spike knew what happened, he had been hurled through the air near the edge of the ravine. He was still in the air as Clark saw him make the inevitable fall towards the earth, but he soon remembered that this is not always inevitable. Spike twirled about in the air as his fall towards the earth decelerated. Clark did not know if they were necessary spins and turns or if they were for show, but Spike managed to land on his feet with little effort.

"Spike, we can talk about this. Beating the crap out of me isn't going to solve anything." Clark was actually more confident in this fight than he said, knowing that once his powers were returned in full, he'd have the upper hand.

Spike began walking towards Clark slowly. After he was a couple yards out, he began walking in a circular pattern around Clark. As he walked around him, Clark continually turned towards him, preparing for an imminent attack. "Come on Clark," Spike said as he continued his circling. "We both know how malicious Lex can be. That son of a bh has to be punished for what he's done." Clark had had a similar conversation like this earlier in the year with Green Arrow. Fortunately Oliver was out of his league compared to Clark and his decisions were induced by a drug. This time, he couldn't just push him aside.

"He will be, some day. But that day is not today." Clark felt the words of his father coming through him as he tried to put some sense into him. This only reminded him of how Spike had no father-figure to guide him in his hard times. "I don't just spend my time in a barn every hour of the day. Chloe and I have been trying to get a concrete case on him-"

"But let me guess, he's covered his tracks and you've got nothing." Spike stopped his circling. "This is the only way, and if you're going to stand between me and him, then I don't see any other options."

_I was hoping it wouldn't come to this_ Clark thought as he concentrated his eyes. He hated doing this to **people**, but he was convinced that it was the swiftest and easiest way to end the debacle.

_Spike_

Spike noticed a shimmer in Clark's eyes. It wasn't a problem until it got brighter. _What the hel-_ he thought as an immense beam of heat emanated from Clark's pupils and came straight towards Spike's torso. He had a counter-attack for everything that he knew about Clark, but nothing could have prepared him for this. The twin rays struck him with a surprisingly more concussive than scorching impact. _Owwwwww_ was all Spike could think of as his back hit pavement. Despite the magnitude of the situation and the gravity of his actions, Spike could not help but think comedically how unexpected and painful that was. _Strength and speed are one thing, but the ability to generate heat from his eyeballs. Who would have guessed?_ Spike opened his eyes, while in a straining battle to stay conscious. The first thing that he noticed was a bright light. _Not again, I can't take another one of those_ he thought, expecting another powerful impact on his chest. Then he realized that the light was not coming from Clark, but from a semi-truck barreling down the road and almost on him. Spike saw that he was on the other side of the street and the semi would not hit him, but it would come between him and Clark.

_Clark_

The semi came right between Clark and Spike right before Clark was going to walk towards Spike. He watched it go right on by with Spike on the ground, presumably unconscious. The semi then finished its pass and revealed nothing but an empty street. _Oh boy_ Clark instinctively thought as he realized that his heat vision was slightly weaker than usual as well and the grim knowledge that he had no idea where his opponent was. _He might have gone after Lex again._ Clark felt his strength and speed returning to him, which meant that this fight was getting closer and closer to being over. Clark was about to put on his speed again to follow up Lex's limo and see if Spike went after him when he felt a touch on his right shoulder. He turned to the right to throw a light punch, but was beaten to it as his face was bashed in by a fist. Clark felt blood surge from his nose and his left cheek as he staggered backwards. He thought he felt some in his mouth as well, and assumed that he lost at least one his teeth. Despite the short time of his staggering, he was able to take all of this in and noticed Spike's right hand was red and bruised. He didn't know how much was his blood or how much was Spike's, but he knew that it was getting busted up. Before he could even stop stumbling, Spike reached out and grabbed him by the neck and jacket and turned around to hurl Clark back over the edge of the road and into Calton's Gorge. Clark was in the air for a few seconds as he was thrown superhumanly far and hit the ground with a thud. The impact did not hurt, but it was his realization that alarmed him, _I'm in Kryptonite territory._

Clark got up and turned around to locate Spike, but he saw nothing. He was a couple of hundred feet into the ravine, and he did not know which direction went out of it. After a quick sweep of the area with his x-ray vision, he took a moment to clean off his face. He wiped the majority of the blood onto his jacket, and he noticed that it was hard to see considering that it was already red. While doing this, he realized that his jacket had gotten torn apart in some places. _Damn. I love this jacket._ His face was clean for the most part, but there were still smears of red around his nose. His accelerated healing had repaired his wounds on his face, but he still had the imprint from the pain. _First time in a while that I've felt pain. Besides Kryptonite-induced pain. Seems to be a daily occurrence nowadays._ Clark kept an upbeat and humorous mood to keep himself in control and not lose himself to the fight. He knew the consequences of losing control and he was not willing to pay it. He continued turning seeking for Spike as he began his journey out of the gorge, taking extreme caution to avoid any Kryptonite. _Hope he doesn't know about that stuff._ _As long as I can get a single light hit in on him, I can end this._ Clark knew all too well though that Spike was not one to leave himself open for an attack.

He could fell his energy returning to him, making him stronger by the moment. Clark had been walking for what he assumed to be about six minutes now and had not seen anything move, besides a few leaves on the ground. He then took a look at himself and realized that he stood out easily with his red jacket on. He took it off and placed it near a tree. _Sorry old friend_ he thought as he put the jacket down. When he turned around he took in his environment quickly. There were a couple trees around him in his immediate area and a lot of small rocks. There was also a rather large rock lying a few yards to his right. It was about five by eight feet and would provide a good cover. Clark walked over to the rock slowly when he heard something behind him. It sounded like a rustle. Clark turned around as fast as possible with his hands up and ready for an attack, but there was nothing. All he saw were a few leaves fluttering in the wind. He turned around again to find cover behind the rock, but was met with an unexpected visitor. Spike was standing there in front of him. Similarly to before, Clark was struck hard from his opposition, but he was hit in the gut. He felt like he were hit by a train as a normal person. In automatic response to the impact, he hunched forward in pain with a grunt. He did not even have time to get up before he was kneed in the chin with an force strong enough to shatter that of any other man. Clark's vision was incoherent, but what he saw was Spike bringing up his leg and thrust it into his upper torso. The impact sent out a minor shockwave of energy as it hit its target and sent it crashing into the base of a tree. Clark was burrowed into this thick tree with little space, but he was thankful for the space that had been put between him and Spike. He could feel the blood dribbling out of his nose and mouth where his wounds had reopened. His shirt was now in rags and barely clasping on to him. And he was steamed. _I've given this guy chance after chance_ he thought to himself. _But he's out for blood and I'm not going to be some pushover._ This was enough motivation for him to crawl his way out of his hole in the tree.

_Spike_

Clark was just sent flying into a far off tree because of Spike's doing and he was pleased with his performance. It was amazing; he had fought normal people all over the world and even a few special ones, but it always had the same feel to it. He could hit as hard as he wanted and break through all of the barriers that a person had, but it was still the same, he could not afford to get hit. His durability was the same as everybody else's and in actuality, he was very fragile compared to people like Clark. It was ironic that a man with a gun on him would be more dangerous than most others while a bullet meant nothing to Clark, and yet Spike was winning the brawl. The only reason that he had not already lost was because he managed to avoid all of Clark's onslaughts, with the exception of that heat from the eyes thing. _That still hurts. Good thing Clark's fighting skills were limited. He's also holding back a little, which brings it to my advantage._ Spike began walking towards Clark, intending to do whatever it takes to end this quarrel. He did not waste any time getting there, but he did not go in a hurry either. _That blow could have taken out a tank._ Then he realized his error as he saw Clark getting up, and looking sincerely furious. _Why won't you just stay down for your own good Clark?_ Despite his regret of his actions, Spike pushed his advantages and lifted himself a foot above the ground, enough to be above any small rocks or plants, but low enough to be eye to eye with Clark. At this altitude, while in an upright position, he launched himself towards Clark at speeds near thirty miles per hour. He was on a direct course for Clark. The adrenaline running through his system let him register his surroundings at such great speeds. The distance between the two combatants was closing as Spike pulled his arm back to deliver the blow to end this fiasco. He saw Clark's eyes and Clark saw his as Spike almost finished him off, but he noticed a change in Clark's appearance, he had the look of competition and the fight. Before Spike could respond or alter course, Clark had sidestepped from Spike's flight pattern and had his arm held out.

BAM!

Spike's forehead was bashed into what felt like a brick wall. _Ahhhhh! Owwww!_ Spike thought quickly as he was flipped over in the air from the impact and landed on his stomach with a hard impact. The collision was enough to blur Spike's vision almost to the point of a complete blur. The contact had not affected Clark at all and he was in the same position as before he was hit. Spike had to end this fast if he was going to end it at all. He looked up to see a large boulder, not unlike the one that Clark had previously intended to use for cover. _That'll do._ He was surprised that Clark had not finished the job yet, but he was not going to press his luck. With a great amount of pain, due to his recent contact with Clark's arm, Spike lifted himself off the ground and reached towards the boulder's foundation. His head was throbbing with pain, but he pushed it aside and concentrated on the task at hand. Very few others would be capable of retaining consciousness, let alone operate their body properly. Thanks to his current handicap, Spike had a more difficult time lifting the boulder from the earth that it was accustomed to. He managed to lift it over his head as if it were a barbell and turned towards Clark. He was just standing there, waiting to get hit and test his invulnerability. They were a few scarce feet apart and Clark made no attempt to evade or press his attack. _That's right jackass, stay right there_ Spike thought as he smashed the boulder down onto Clark with all the strength that he could muster. The rock did not crack as he expected and was completely intact, but at this point, it was of no concern to him. Spike was surprisingly pleased with himself for what he had done. Despite what people may say or believe about him, he always had a sense of regret about what he did. That he could have had a completely normal life and not have had to do all of these terrible things, but these feelings were not present for the first time. He was beginning to like what he did. This was evident with the malicious smirk he had on his face, and was only so much more grimacing with the streaks of blood rolling across his cheeks.

Spike turned around to find Lex and finish him off once and for all, but his smile was gone. Clark Kent was standing there in front of him without a sign of injury from the prior attack. _Damn! Must have dodged it with his speed._ Spike's expression was now that of a cold, heartless being. Without hesitation, Spike lashed out with a right hook towards Clark's face, but was blocked by an even stronger arm. _He's catching on._ Spike then sent out a flurry of lefts, rights, upper cuts, and every form of close-ranged attack that he could muster, but they were all met with one of Clark's wrist. Clark was becoming an impenetrable barrier, blocking and ducking from every attack. Clark's feet also remained stationary, due to his uncanny ability to react so swiftly. Spike's arm were becoming restless and merely a blur as he continued his assaults to no avail. Unbeknownst to Spike, Clark's speed and imperviousness were almost completely returned to him and Spike's attacks, no matter how strong, were quite slow. For the better of forty seconds, Clark was leisurely blocking Spike's attacks, when Spike placed all of his energy into a single blow. He would be opening himself up to a counter-attack if he missed, but if he made contact, he would have more time to recover. To his great astonishment, Clark caught the punch in his left fist with minimal effort. This was followed by immense pain in hand as he felt Clark's palm crushing down on Spike's. He let out a screech of pain as he reached points of suffering that he had never felt before.

Spike had never been more pleased in his life when Clark let loose his grip. As he fruitlessly shook his hand to regain feeling, he pondered why Clark had let go, and was met with an answer. Clark pushed out, quite softly considering the capacity of his strength, and made contact with Spike's chest. Despite the relinquishing of pain from Spike's hand, he was not much better off as he was hurled through the air on his back. His chest was also burning in pain now and he thought that he heard a small crack. All of his body was completely numbed or in extreme pain as he landed on a small pile of leaves a few yards back. _It's over _Spike acknowledged to himself as he lie there are the ground. He knew that he had a slim to none chance of victory, but he was not the type to go down without a fight. He noticed Clark was standing over him, looking down without a sense of happiness or victory, but more of regret. Spike gathered every bit of energy that he had into rising up onto his knees and making one last punch. He put everything that he had into it, which was not much, and aimlessly threw it at Clark. Then, as he feared, he met Clark's palm again in failure. _Well done Kent, well done_ was the last thought that Spike had before Clark quickly reached down and gave him a tap on his forehead, sending his opponent into what would be a long unconsciousness.

_To be continued…_

Comments please.


	9. Chapter 9

Note: I've shown Spike's life to completely suck so far, throwing painful experience after painful experience at him, pretty much to show that he has had little happiness in his life and to test his morals. This chapter alleviates a lot of that pain from Spike and gives him joy, mostly to let him relax from his non-stop life of pain. For anybody who has been saying, "Give him a break," this is it. It takes place over along period of time, mostly to keep up with it being realistic. The likelihood of all this excitement and twists and turns and action happening in the span of a few days is unlikely, so I add in a span of time that is just normal. Enjoy!

CH9 To Tame the Beast

_Talon Apartment, 2:00 PM, day after end of CH8_

"Unggh," Spike groaned as he returned to consciousness. He opened his eyes slightly, but was disappointed to see a slight blur. His head was throbbing with pain and he was using every ounce of strength that he had to stay conscious. He began to recall the events that brought him into this situation: _the fire, Luthor came, Clark kicked my ass, woke up._ He had no idea where he was, but wherever it is, it's comfy. The blur in his vision was hurting him more than helping, so he elected to close his eyes and just lie there. _Wonder if I'm in a cell?_ Then he heard a rustling not too far off. "Who's there?" he asked, in a surprisingly hoarse voice.

"It's Chloe. You're in my apartment." The voice was that of a young female, one that he recognized all too well. In his time as a janitor at the Daily Planet, he had become accustomed to hearing it, even though she never spoke directly to him. He felt a rush of cold come across his head, easing the overwhelming pain that he had. Chloe was putting a wash cloth across his forehead, and successfully alleviating some of the pain.

"Sullivan?" Spike opened his eyes. It was more of a rhetorical question, he knew it was her. "How'd I end up here?" he asked in bewilderment. At the moment, the last thing that he needed to do was use his head. _Let's just see what she'll tell me._

"Clark brought you by yesterday. He said that you two had had some kind of a quarrel." She left the cold cloth on his head as she walked away towards the refrigerator. Spike's vision was returning to him, but he would probably fail an eye examination.

"If you call a battle of psychopath versus Good Samaritan a quarrel, then yeah, we had one."

Chloe took out a water bottle from the refrigerator and walked it over to Spike. He was beginning to develop a mental blueprint of his surroundings. From what he had gathered so far, he figured based upon the creaking of Chloe's steps that he was on the at least the second floor, the refrigerator was about twenty feet away, there are few rooms in the apartment, he was in a large bed, and there was a beam of light coming through a window pane. He accepted the water bottle gladly and began to drink it down.

"I've heard of Clark being referred to as many things, but I seriously doubt that he's a psychopath," Chloe stated firmly. Spike could tell by her confidant and unwavering tone that she believed in Clark and what she just said.

"Actually, it was the other way around. I lost control and Clark gave me the beating that I deserved and needed. I never really lost a fight since I got my powers; guess it's a good thing I lost this one though." Spike could vaguely see Chloe's face, but he could tell that she was taking all of this very well. For the first time in a while besides Clark, he found somebody who knew about who he truly was and was not afraid of him. "Does it ever scare you, what Kent and people like us can do?" Spike asked. _She's probably the most reliable person to ask this question_.

Chloe took a seat at the end of the bed. "Sure, sometimes. I've had more than my fair share of meteor freaks trying to kill me." Spike had no idea what a meteor freak was, but he assumed that it was some kind of super-powered person. "Clark's even lost control sometimes and it really scared me what he was capable of doing." Chloe remembered back to them both meeting the Angel of Vengeance and how angry Clark was over the loss of his dad. "The one thing that I remember though is that Clark Kent and many other people out there are using their skills to help people too. Clark's heart is so strong, that even if he had no powers, he'd take a bullet for somebody that he didn't even know. That's the kind of person that I know he is, and I know that he would never do anything if he didn't think that it was the right thing to do."

"I agree with you about all of those things, except the whole taking a bullet thing," Spike responded.

"You really don't think that he'd take a-"

"No. I mean that I don't think that I'd take one for anybody. Yeah there's the whole saving people thing, but who's going to keep on saving people if you die for just one. It's a matter of the good of one against the good of the many." Spike firmly believed in what he said. He would understand if somebody thought differently, but one thing that he had learned is that a person's philosophies are based upon their experiences. His life has taught him to look out for number one, then save people second. 

"Yeah, well-" Chloe was cut off again as the door opened.

Clark stepped on through the door, looking to Chloe for an update. He was wearing the red and blue again and had no signs of damage on him. He looked over towards Spike and cautiously stepped towards him. Chloe came up to Clark tightly to avoid Spike from hearing them. She quietly said to him, "He's fine. He's also under control again. He told me that he truly is sorry for what he's done and, surprisingly, he's praising you for stopping him."

Clark took it in quickly, and looked over Chloe's shoulder to keep an eye on Spike, who had chosen to get out of the bed and on his feet.

"Hey Kent. I don't suppose I'm sorry will cover for what I've done?" Spike asked innocently.

Clark walked around Chloe towards Spike. Spike held his ground as Clark came eye to eye with Spike. "You tried to kill Lex and me, and would have succeeded if I didn't stop you."

"Not one of my brighter moments," Spike responded chuckling to himself.

"This isn't funny," Clark retorted in a slightly deeper and louder voice.

"Look Kent," Spike said breaking eye contact and walking over towards the windowed wall. "You could yell at me, then I could say sorry, then you could yell at me again, and I could say sorry again, or I could just get the hell out of your life. So if you'll excuse me," he said reaching towards the base of the window preparing to open it.

Clark sped around Spike and stood between him and the window. Clark wasn't sure if that was implying suicide or just leaving Smallville forever, but at the moment it did not matter. Spike jumped back in surprise. This was a reversal of roles to what happened a few days earlier, with Clark getting between Spike and the window. "And let you out of my sight and ruin your life, not a chance." Clark was speaking in a very stern and commanding tone, one that Spike had not heard until then.

"Look Kent!" Spike shouted back. At this moment, Chloe chose to leave the room to the two of them. _As long as they don't incinerate my room, they should be fine_ Chloe thought as she walked downstairs to the Talon. "I'm agreeing with you here. I screwed up and all I want is to be left alone and leave you alone." Spike paused, taking a deep breath to gather himself and calm down. The pain that he was feeling began to subside slowly, but it would take a while to fully heal. "I already caused you enough problems and now Lex is going to be after me. It's best that I just leave."

"I'm not going to let you Clark," Clark responded. "You don't need to be alone, you need to be with people and see what you're missing. I know all too well what it's like to be so caught up in a vendetta that you leave ignore all the things that you used to care about."

"Unlike you Clark, I have nobody and nothing. I don't have a home to go to. I don't have friends to fall back on. I don't even have a single damn parent to lie to me and say 'Everything's going to be alright.' " Spike was no longer able to hold back any of his emotions. His face began to redden with frustration and depression over the loss of his family, and he inadvertently developed clenched his fists together. Everywhere he had ever been, everybody that he'd ever talked to, they only knew about the most recent lie that he made up, but now he could finally vent to somebody.

"Well let's change that," Chloe said coming back into the room through the door. Spike and Clark both turned and focused their attention on Chloe. "Why don't you hang out here for a while and develop and build a new life."

Clark was in shock that Chloe had offered up her apartment to this stranger to her, but was also relieved in knowing that he would not have to keep Spike at the Kent farm.

"I couldn't do that to you," Spike responded, much more calm and at ease than before.

"It's no problem," Chloe assured him. "Really, I could sleep on the sofa for a while and I could let you tag along on some stories with me until you settle down."

Both Clark and Spike were bewildered at this sign of generosity. Spike had never been shown such kindness before, especially without being owed a favor. Clark was pleased to see Chloe doing what she could to help civilize Spike, and get him off of his vendetta against Lex.

"Alright," Spike agreed. "With one condition, you can take the bed, I'll get the sofa." Chloe, Clark, and even Spike smiled at the change of events. Clark could tell that thing's were taken a turn for the better. _I just hope Lex will leave me alone long enough to start a new life _Spike thought. _Who would have guessed, settling in a hick town like Smallville._

Over the three weeks, Spike began to feel the weight of duty and revenge being lifted off his shoulders. He would wake up, eat breakfast, get a latte at the Talon with Chloe, tag along with her to the Daily Planet, pretty much secretary her at her desk, and return back to the apartment, ready for the next day. It was monotonous and boring, but Spike preferred that to the twists and turns and crashes of his prior life. It felt strange, he and Chloe living under the same roof, but they were both adults about the situation. Clark would occasionally pop in here and there, hang out for a while, and then go about his day. Spike, for the first time since his parents died, was happy and content. While other people longed for a life of significance and adventure, he found satisfaction in the life of an unemployed young adult, mooching off of a friends things, and doing little with his life. The irony was wonderful. He would have to dodge away every once in a while when Lana would come in to the Talon or Chloe's apartment to avoid her reporting him to Lex, but he was for the most part undisturbed.

Spike found it increasingly difficult to deal with the fact that Chloe was Lex's fiancé's maid of honor and was constantly at the Luthor mansion, but he let it go to avoid dredging up his past vendetta against Lex. One of the few unusual days came on Valentine's day, where there was a great celebration downstairs at the Talon. Spike was at the top of the stairs, looking down on the masses of lovers and fools. He caught site of Clark and Lois talking to each other. Spike had come across pictures of Lois in Chloe's apartment and had been informed of the rivalry between her and Clark, which made for great jokes between him and Clark. As Clark walked out, he saw Lois taking a, seemingly lustful, stare at Clark. _Wow. That aught to be interesting _Spike pondered as he returned to the apartment to finish his reading of Crime and Punishment. He found it to be a very moving book and had personal themes in it.

The next night was the wedding dinner of Lex and Lana, which Chloe was attending. In attempts to keep the peace, he and Chloe avoided conversation about this event before she left. Spike could not help but stare at her white dress. She looked gorgeous in it, and just as he had feared, he thought that he might be getting the hots for her. _Cool it down man. She's got a boyfriend_ Spike reminded himself. Even though, he could not help but admire her beauty. _Must be the valentines fever. _While she was gone, he was completely unaware of Clark's red kryptonite escapade until Chloe came in through the door, sobbing. Spike turned off the tv and placed his attention on her. "What's wrong Chloe?" he asked in authentic concern. _If somebody's hurt her._

"It's nothing. Jimmy and I broke up," she said putting down her purse and walking over to the sofa. Spike could tell that she had been crushed, not only by her continual crying, but by how much she had told him about Jimmy. She completely adored him and now she lost him.

"That's not nothing," Spike told her as he sat down next to her. _What are the odds. She ends up breaking up the day after I realize that I like her._ Spike took a deep look into her eyes and realized that it wouldn't be fair to either of them to address that issue now. _She's vulnerable now and it would be wrong to tell her how I feel._ "I know how you felt about him and if you want to talk-"

"Actually, I'm just going to go to bed. Maybe I'll wake up and realize that this is all just some nightmare."

"Alright, but my offer still stands if you ever need anything. You were there for me in my hard times and now I can return the favor if you need it."

_He's sweet_ Chloe thought to herself. _Who would have thought?_

Over the next few days, Spike was especially generous to Chloe and would go out of his way to comfort her. He would constantly remind himself that it's not worth it to be the rebound boy and that he should give her some time before telling her how he feels. Clark was nowhere to be seen for a while, which Spike found out to be because of a little crashing that he did at Lex's wedding dinner. _Way to go Kent_ Spike thought when he heard this, ignorant of how dangerous Clark truly was at the time or of his attempt to kill the Lex in the barn later that day.

Life was going phenomenal for Spike. He found himself humming at times, developing a less morbid sense of humor, and was adapting to the life of a civilian nicely. He had every reason to be happy as well; Chloe and he were getting close, he and Clark had found common ground and were acquiring great respect for each other, and his wounds were finally healed. He found himself using his abilities less and less every day, which was considered an improvement for him to become less reliant on his skills. Aside from moving furniture for Chloe, he no longer was putting himself in situations that required great strength and his anti-hero complex was diminishing slowly. It was slightly awkward for Spike to be living in the same apartment with a girl who he was not involved with and had caused certain uneasiness on both of them at times, but they both knew that he had no other place to go and they would both be mature about the situation.

Except for when Lana had to hide away in Chloe's apartment for some reason, Spike rarely had to avoid people. He was curious as to why Lana was staying there with a full crowd of paparazzi outside, but he knew that Lex would never let anything happen to his fiancé, so he stayed the night in the Kent barn. He probably could have convinced Clark to let him take a guest room, but he did not want to be a problem. The next day, he went back to Chloe's apartment, picking up some coffee for both of them along the way, and entered to find her absent from the room. _Damn. Must have missed her. _To occupy himself, he spent the day tidying up the apartment and watching tv. _With the power to lift anything and fly past the speed of sound and I end up living the quiet life and doing cleaning. Very masculine_ he told himself sarcastically. He found that he was growing more and more anxious to see Chloe again, to the point of not just-a-friend anxious. _It's been long enough. I've got to tell her how I feel about her_ he told himself. She and Jimmy had not gotten back together and they had been apartment long enough for her to not be vulnerable and confused. He had never been so excited in his life and he was just brimming with happiness that nobody else had ever been able to bring him before. It was a great match, and he felt that it would be perfect.

Later that night, Chloe came in to the apartment to see Spike on the sofa watching COPS. _What a surprise_ she thought to herself. Spike looked over and saw a smile of pure happiness and joy. _This is it_ Spike told himself. _Do or die time._ "Chloe. There's something I've got to tell you," he said, barely able to hold back his feelings.

"Really?" she said, putting down her keys on the table. "What's that?"

"Well," he paused, not sure how he wanted to put this. "Well, first of all, how was your day?" he asked to get that out of the way.

"It was great!" she exclaimed. _Why is she so happy_ Spike wondered to himself. "Jimmy and I got back together."

Spike stared into her eyes as she delivered this information to him. His mind was a blank slate, filled with confusion and indefinable shock. Seconds passed as he continued to blindly stare at her. Her smile was genuine and he could tell that she was more happy than he could ever make her. All of his dreams and hopes were shot down in that moment, but he was surprisingly calm about it. _If you love them, set them free_ was all that came to his mind. The awkward silence was becoming too conspicuous, so Spike decided to cover himself up. "That, that's great. I can see that you're really happy." Spike's shock and confusion was no longer evident as he lied, "I just wanted to tell you that I cleaned everything up and managed to fix that faucet that was broken." It was the first thing that was true that he could come up with.

"Thanks," she said in her usual feminine and earnest tone. "I have something to tell you too," she said as she walked past him and put her laptop down on the table. "I found a lead on the man that you've been looking for. The guy who-" she paused to make sure that he was okay with this. "The guy who killed your professor and maybe parents."

Spike was no longer pining over his apparent failure to be with Chloe, and turned everything that he had felt into vengeance. "What is it?" he asked in an ominous and deep tone. He was finally going to be able to get one step closer to avenging his family and professor. If she had said anything else, he would not have been as distracted from his current loss of love, but this had priority.

"His name's Bryce Corren. He apparently belongs to the 13 gang in Suicide Slums. They generally hang around Harbour Avenue and LuthorCorp owned buildings. With a quick tip to the police, we can put this guy behind bars," she said taking out her cell phone. As she looked up, she realized that she was alone and felt a quick draft come in as the door swayed back and forth. _Chloe, you idiot. You should have known that he wouldn't play by the rules_ she thought as she stopped dialing 9-1-1 and started to ring Clark.

Over the Smallville night sky, Spike soared towards Metropolis. He broke through the sound barrier with ease and felt himself closing in on his destination. Despite his neglect of his abilities recently, he still had it in him to break his speed record. _I honestly don't know if I'm going to kill you or not Bryce, but you better pray to whatever god you pray to that he have mercy on your soul. _


	10. Chapter 10

Note: Wow. Been a LONG time. Some stuff came up and I didn't really feel like or have the time to update. I hope to wrap this story up swiftly, yet properly and effectively. Thanks for holding out. PS: This chapter begins right after the conclusion of "Trespass" in season 6.

CH10 The Ever-Fading Line

_Kent Farm, immediately after CH9_

Clark's phone began to ring. It had not been but a few hours after Lex had come to the barn to invite Clark to his wedding to see what he had lost. He could not bring himself to sleep after this encounter, so he decided to the closest thing to fun on the farm, chores. Thanks to his Kryptonian abilities, he does not require as much sleep as the average human, so one less night would not hurt him. As he finished ramming another fence pole into the ground, he answered the phone wondering who would be calling him this late. The screen read "Chloe," _of course. _

"What's up Chloe?" Clark asked. _Probably some super big emergency with peril that the world cannot wait to throw at me_ Clark thought sarcastically to himself.

"Spike's gone after his parents' killer and I get the feeling it's not going to be a very long conversation," she blurted out, knowing that every second counts when dealing with a guy who can break the speed of sound.

_Why do I have to be right?_ Clark reactively pondered. "Where's he headed? And how did he find out where this guy is?" Clark responded quickly.

"Long story short, I screwed up and let it out. The guy's name is Bryce Corren, member of the 13 Gang and probably hanging out in Suicide Slums near Harbour. I have reason to believe that our favorite boy billionaire has been hiring these guys for odd jobs for a while, so the gang's probably located near to a LuthorCorp building. I think I better call the police Clark. Spike's going to require some serious incentive to abandon his search for this guy."

"No Chloe. No police. He can seriously hurt people if he wants to and trying to stop him only gives him more will to fight. The cops'll be out of their league." Clark knew that he was no expert on psychology or on Spike's psyche in particular, but with his past encounters, he knew a little bit about desperation and super-criminals.

"Do you think we should call in help from your League?" Chloe asked referring to the recently formed Justice League, which Clark had an open-ended membership in.

"No. I can take care of this myself. Last time was more difficult because I didn't want to hurt him too much, but he's out of excuses now. I'll call you when I get him."

"Wait, Clark," Chloe blurted out hoping to get him before he sped off.

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"This man killed his father. I think we all remember what you almost did to Lionel when you thought he killed your dad. He's angry and confused, but not evil. Keep that in mind."

With the conclusion of Chloe's statement, Clark sped himself away towards Metropolis, ready for whatever may come. Clark had been keeping in mind what Chloe said, but what separated Spike and himself was that Clark did not make it an obsession of his to hunt down his father's "killer." He figured out that murder and revenge are never the solution to anything. Spike was still in the process of figuring this out, if he was ever going to figure this out. There is an ever-fading line between justice and revenge, sometimes both sides almost seeming to coincide, but never truly merging. Spike has been straddling this line long enough and it was time to see what he truly wanted, to make himself feel better briefly by murdering, or making right a wrong. In not too much time, he was going to find out.

Clark was reaching the Harbour Avenue intersection when he began formulating a plan in his head. He had encountered the 13 Gang once before when one of its members mugged his mom and stole his father's watch, where he eventually met up with the Angel of Vengeance. She had shown Clark where they traditionally hung out, so that would be the most likely place to start. In another couple of seconds, Clark found himself walking down a dark secluded area of the slums with rapists, murderers, thugs for hire, and every possible scum of the earth one could think of. If not for his superhuman abilities, it would be unlikely that he would make it out unscathed. Clark made sure to stay out of eyesight of the gang as he neared a large group of members, circled around a bonfire. It was not that cold of a night to need a fire, but what can be expected of insane criminals. Clark was approximately thirty feet from the fire, still unnoticed by any of the gang, when he took notice of one man that everybody seemed to regard with fear and respect. It was easier than expected to find the head of this group. With a great inhalation, Clark let out a large gust of wind towards the fire, which was extinguished in seconds. In the moment's confusion in pure darkness, Clark initiated his super speed. As fast as he could, which was fast, he grabbed the assumed head of the gang and carried him to a far away ally. The ally of Clark's choice was also in pure dark and did not allow the head of the gang to see Clark's face as he turned off his speed. Before the man could understand what had happened or how he had appeared somewhere else, Clark grabbed the man by his collar and hoisted him a few inches above the ground.

In his most intimidating voice, which to Clark's dismay was not as fearsome as he intended, he began his interrogation. "Bryce Corren is a member of your gang and in hiding, where is he?" Not to Clark's surprise, the unnamed man did not answer and was still in shock over what had just transpired. One thing that Clark could tell was that the man was scared, which was all Clark needed. "Where is he?" Clark pressed the question as he also pressed the man up against the wall in an attempt to bring the man into the present and out of his shock.

"I, I uh, don't know what you're talking about man," was the man's response as he began to accept what had just happened. Clark noticed as the man reached for his gun from inside his jacket, and Clark pushed even harder, causing the man to squeal in pain and stopping him from trying to grab his firearm. Despite this man's strong front and power of fear, he was buckling under Clark's strength and intimidation. Ironically, Clark was recalling and recreating his persona as Kal in Metropolis, except without the RedK this time, in order to effectively get this man to answer.

"I don't know for sure man, I'm not that high up," the man finally answered after his arm started to burn from Clark's iron grip. "All I heard is that he's hanging out in some fancy-ass LuthorCorp building near Toledo." Clark contracted his grip on the man's arm to make sure he was not lying. A small tear of pain trickled down from the man's eye as he added, "Honest man. I don't care about protecting that guy. You can have him." Clark released his grasp on the man as he crumpled to the ground.

This had gone far faster and better than Clark had intended. It was fortunate that he found a guy who had nothing to lose by ratting out Corren. Clark could hear with his enhance hearing that the rest of this guy's gang were beginning to notice that he was missing, so Clark decided to head out of the alleyway at a normal pace until he reached the end, where he sped up once more. Clark was confident that the man had not seen his face, considering that the alley was pitch black and Clark himself could barely see the man. With this new information, Clark traced all of Harbour until he reached its intersection with Toledo. As Clark looked around, it was not difficult to notice the building that the man had been referring to. LuthorCorp had always liked to show people how much it had and owned, but Clark was thankful for this this day as he noticed a large plaque in front of an apartment complex thanking LuthorCorp for its financing.

It was then that Clark heard a scream of terror from above. Clark looked up and saw a man dangling from the rooftop of the apartment, apparently being held up by the neck. He had found the right place, just a little too late. It took him about two seconds to scale the apartment stairs and reached the rooftop, where he saw exactly what he expected to see, Spike holding out a man over street by the throat. Clark could have attempted to speed his way up to Spike and grab a hold of Corren before he was dropped, but in their past encounters, Spike seemed to show extremely enhanced reflexes when it came to Clark's speeding around. It was possible that Spike would notice Clark coming, which would not be good for him or Corren. Making the wise decision, Clark slowed himself to a halt, about ten feet away from Spike and his victim. It seemed that Spike and Corren had not been in this situation long, but that was irrelevant at this point. As Clark walked closer, Spike become aware of Clark's presence and turned his head to acknowledge Clark.

"I figured you would show up to save the day," Spike yelled to Clark over the pounding thunder in the sky. "No matter what happens here, tell Chloe I'm sorry, for everything," Spike told Clark. Both of these men were looking each other in the eye for the first time in a while considering how Spike had been forced to be isolated in Chloe's apartment for the past few weeks.

"I see we have an unwanted visitor," Corren chimed in in a hoarse voice, obviously having difficulty speaking with his throat being crushed at the moment. Clark had never met or heard of this man until recently, but the cold and dark voice was all that he needed to see what kind of person he was. From what Clark could see, Corren was holding himself up by grasping on to Spike's arm, and was completely at his mercy. Were anything to make Spike let go of Corren, it would be impossible for him to grab hold of anything before he splattered on the ground.

"Come on Spike, we've been through this," Clark yelled back in an empowered, but friendly tone. It was important for Clark not to upset Spike, but still show authority. "You know that killing him is not going to make things right."

Spike turned his head and attention to Corren. "It's not about right and wrong anymore Clark." Spike was beginning to sound like a child trying to explain himself to his parents. In this case, it was the child who had the power and control of the situation. "It's about making sure this thing doesn't hurt anymore, at any cost."

"That's not our decision to make," Clark retorted.

"You don't get it do you Clark." Spike's concentration and eyes had not left Corren, even as he spoke to Clark. "I could have been normal. I had a family that cared about me, an ally who was teaching me to control my abilities. I could have been an average Joe working an average job with an average life, and a loving family-"

"Yeah, real loving," Corren interrupted. "You should have heard what they said before I killed them, begging me to kill you instead of them. Telling me that you're the freak and don't belong on this earth. What a loving fam that is-" Spike clenched the man's throat even harder cutting him off. Clark could see the color draining from Corren's face as his breathing was cut off.

"Spike! This is not who you are. Chloe and I have seen the good in you, the potential for good. You just need to put this to rest and move on." This was beginning to seem more and more hopeless and the argument went on. Spike was intent on killing Corren and Clark would have no choice but to take that as Spike's admitting what side he is on. "There's a line Spike between justice and revenge Spike, you need to decide what it is you want." Clark took another slow step closer to Spike, but Spike just took a step back. To Clark and Corren, it appeared as though Spike was standing on an invisible bridge, but Clark knew that it was just Spike's ability keeping him afloat.

"Before you say it Clark," Spike began, "I know that killing him will make me like him, but what if I am. Maybe it's who I'm supposed to be-"

"I don't believe that and neither do you," Clark interrupted.

Spike turned his head to Clark and spoke ominously, "We'll see." With that, Spike's grip on Corren let loose and Corren began a plummet towards the ground. In an instant, Clark began to speed back to the stairs, down the stairs, into the front of the building and wait for Corren to come down. Spike had obviously made his choice and taken his stand on the side of revenge, but Clark knew that he had given him all the chances that he could. _I'll deal with Spike later_ Clark noted. As Corren came down, Clark could hear his inhuman scream as he thought he fell to his death. It was unfortunate, but Clark could not deny that he almost, but not quite, felt sorry for Corren falling to what he thought would be he his death. That would be enough to drive somebody crazy if they survived, which he would make sure Corren would. As Corren was almost in Clark's grasp, he all of a sudden began slowing down to a halt in mid-air. Clark took a moment to take this is and then he noticed the source of this phenomenon. It was Spike suspending Corren in the air. He had decided not to let Corrent die in the end. Clark became overwhelmed with relief at these turn of events, but all he could think of was _good ma_n_ Spike._

As Spike slowly descended, Clark could hear the frantic pleading of Corren. "I'll tell, I'll tell. I swear I'll tell everything and give you whatever the hell you want. Please." Clark did not understand what this meant but he could see Spike's reaction was enthusiastic.

"I promise you, I will finish the job if you back out," Spike added to Corren as he dropped him to a three foot fall to the earth. Corren began to back away from Spike in fear and shear terror. He did not even notice or acknowledge that Clark had gone from the roof to here in virtually no time at all.

Clark heard whaling sirens coming around the corner and he looked to Spike to try to get an answer to what had just happened. As Spike walked by him, Clark followed, feeling comfortable that Spike was no longer a danger. As soon as they rounded the corner of Toledo, out of sight of the police vehicles, Spike inquired, "You didn't really think I was going to kill him, did you.?" Clark looked blankly into Spike's eyes, indicating that he did believe that Spike would have. "When I got there, I gave him an ultimatum that he could either testify against Lex or eat pavement from two hundred feet. He started talking about how I wasn't going to kill him and how I didn't have the guts for it." Clark was having a difficult time believing this, considering that this is what anybody would have said if they were trying to defend what they did. "I had to make him believe that I would do it, so I had to put on a pretty good show."

"That was pretty good acting for somebody who had no intention of killing him," Clark commented, asserting that he was still doubtful that Spike had never intended to kill him.

"Come on man, as much as I may not want to admit it, a little bit of you and Chloe has rubbed off on me over the past couple months." Spike stopped walking and turned towards Clark, emphasizing what he was about to say. "Honestly. You were right from the beginning, being on this side of the line is better. You don't have to worry about me Clark. Once Corren testifies against Lex and we put him away for good, I'll know that my parents have gotten justice and I will lower myself to a happy life consisting of a minimum wage job and no excitement." He shrugged, asking Clark if this sounded reasonable. To make sure that they were cool, Spike put out his hand, to which Clark shook it without a moment's hesitation.

As the two heroes walked away back to the city of Smallville, Clark inquired, "How'd you learn to act so well."

"I was in Peter Pan in a junior high play growing up."

"Really? You Peter?"

"Nana actually," Spike responded.

to be continued...


	11. Chapter 11

CH11 Greater than You

_Kent Farm, after CH10_

"Yeah Chloe, everything's fine. The police picked up Corren, Spike's taken a stand on the good side, and we might finally get some hard evidence against Lex after Corren testifies." Clark was sharing the good news with Chloe after his and Spike's departure from Metropolis. Spike decided to rendezvous at the Kent Farm before heading back to the Talon apartment, mostly to "debrief" Clark about what happened and what he plans to do. Clark had decided to update Chloe that everything was fine at that she did not need to worry about Spike.

"What makes you think Corren's going to spill all of Lex's dirty secrets? He knows that Lex will not take kindly to that," Chloe commented to Clark.

"Don't worry. I get the feeling that he's a lot more afraid of Spike now than of Lex. It seems that things are finally going right for us."

"Yeah, but this is all riding on what a psychopathic thug does and we're hoping that he does not flake out." Chloe's tone indicated that she was happy about the day's results, but still skeptical about whether or not they would lead to any concrete results.

"Let Spike and me worry about that." Clark was feeling very pleased that he could now say that he and Spike were on the same team without any doubts. With Spike's internal battle of good and evil over, they can now concentrate everything on Lex. "He says he'll probably be back late, so just leave a window open for him."

Chloe laughed at the absurdity, yet genuineness, of this statement. "All right, bye."

With that, Clark hung up the phone and returned to the dining room table to join Spike. His mom was asleep, which simplified things. Clark looked down at his watch, which read 2:30 am, and thanked the universe for his Kryptonian ability to resist sleep. Many times he found himself thankful for his invulnerability in a fight, or his speed in a hostile situation, but the smaller abilities were a nice addition as well.

"So, what did you tell 911 about Corren before you went after him?" Clark asked, trying to clear up all the loose ends.

Spike took a sip of his coffee, secretly wishing that the range of his abilities included resistance to sleep, and responded, "The truth. That he's a member of the 13 Gang, he's got unregistered firearms in his apartment, and that he's wanted for the murder of Stacey and Frank Starkum." He paused, feeling somewhat uneasy about the last part. "I don't think that he was ever even listed as a suspect in their murder, but I hoped that the police would take a look into it."

A long silence ensued between the two heroes. It was not an awkward or uncomfortable silence, but it was just difficult to find anything that needed saying.

Clark broke the quietness with a question that he'd always wanted to ask, but never truly felt comfortable asking. He always wanted to keep things simple with no questions asked, for fear of upsetting Spike and him loosing control, but now seemed an appropriate time.

"What have you truly been doing for the past years?" Clark asked. "I mean besides the mission of vengeance." Spike looked up at Clark, not quite sure of his intentions. "I just realized that know about what you've been doing recently and what you did before everything, but I have no idea what you've been up to for the past couple years."

"Well…" Spike's sentence began to trail off. "What do you want to know?"

"You told me how you were once a timid little kid genius with no physical strength to speak of. What happened, besides, you know," Clark said alluding to his parents' murder, "to make… a badass."

Spike chuckled softly to himself. It felt so strange and out of place to hear Clark say that, but he assumed that Clark felt it was the most fitting adjective. "A lot of trial and error, and a hell of a lot of failures. I tried the innocent 'I'm trying to set things right, please help me' approach, but I got no help and no progress like that. Over time I realized that the only results I got were when the people I talked to were sweating in fear and ready to cry." Clark looked at Spike in a cynical manner, so Spike elaborated. "At first I would walk away from those situations ready to cry myself. It felt like I was a completely different person and that was somebody whom I didn't want to be. Despite my feelings of guilt for threatening people and seeming like I was cruel, I still held on to who I was and my principles of non-aggression." He paused for a moment and sat up straight in his seat. Spike was not looking Clark in the eye at the moment, similar to how all people try to avoid the judgment that one feels when admitting a fault to somebody's face. He continued, "That was until I made my first physical interrogation. This bar owner who I tracked down chose not to give up the name of one of Lex's thugs, so I threw him up against the wall and broke his jaw." Spike now looked upward towards the ceiling as recollected what happened. His face expressionless, his voice cold, he continued on about his self-admitted fall into violence. "It felt so good to hurt that guy. I don't even remember his name now but I felt like I was raising myself up by walking all over him. I didn't stop hitting him until he collapsed on the floor, unconscious." Clark saw the regret and guilt in Spike's face. He could tell that this was not the only time that Spike looked back at this moment and saw it as his descent into madness, and no matter what he did for redemption, the memories would still be there. "As I walked away from his beaten and battered body, I didn't have a single feeling of regret, until I came here. It was like a drug, you know; once I got a taste, the only thing that could quench it was more and more and more until it wasn't about justice, it was about me. Young, old, weak, strong, worth it, not worth it; it didn't matter. I had to do it and nobody could stop me."

Clark assumed the ominous end to this confession meant that it was followed with an 'until you kicked my ass.' Clark looked at Spike with a new understanding of the man who sat across from him. All the facades peeled away till there was nothing left except for the Spike who also has and always would remember the terrible things that he'd done to people. He, Clark, too has always been struggling with the question of how far is too far and how do you know if you've crossed the line. The answer that he and others had told him was when you feel no remorse. Spike felt remorse, and Clark knew that no matter he had done, he would be able to move on in time. It was then that Clark pondered an important question, does Lex feel remorse? Is he beyond redemption or am I not giving him the same chance that I'm giving Spike? How far can he go before-

"Of course besides Olliver Queen and CO," Spike tagged on to his last sentence.

"How did you meet him anyway?" Clark asked while noting to himself to have a long talk with himself about Lex's redemption or lack thereof.

"I was hanging out in Star City following a lead on one of the guys that Lex hired, when he showed up in my hotel room. I had no idea who the hell he was or what he wanted, but he gave me the lowdown about him knowing about what I can do, how he figured out I still do not know, and he offered me a membership." The mood of the conversation had changed drastically from depressing and nostalgic to more cheerful and reminiscent.

"What'd you say?"

"I told him that I'm not much of a costume kind of guy and that I'm not much of a team player. I also had stuff to do first if I was ever going to join."

"Yeah, I said the same thing." Clark noticed the exact same response to Olliver's offer that he and Spike had. Perhaps they had more in common after all.

"Then there was this whole thing that went down in Star City and I ended up helping the League take care of a minor problem," alluding to the hostage crisis that he had told Clark about once before. Clark was intrigued by what this could have been, but before he could ask, Spike continued, "So he tells me that if I get him some files on 33.1, then we'd be even for him saving my life in that. Bart wanted to have a 3-way race between me, him, and AC in our respective elements, air, land, and water, but I was kind of in a hurry and had to leave. Impulse would have beaten us both anyways." He laughed, most likely remembering some humorous moment involving Bart and some prank or wise-crack. Clark joined in, remembering a humorous time of his own with Bart hitting on Chloe in the barn right before the League departed. "Storytime's over I guess," Spike stated. "I better be heading back."

With that, Clark got up, opened the door, and watched as Spike took off into the sky towards the talon. _A race between AC, Bart, and Spike. Huh… Why didn't they want to invite me?_

_3 days later, Chloe's Apartment_

Clark knocked on the door to Chloe's apartment, not sure what to expect. The door opened and Chloe ushered him in without a word. Clark could see the blank face on her as he stepped in.

"Where is he?" Clark asked.

Chloe said nothing, but pointed to the window on the wall across the room. In there was Spike, turned away from Clark and Chloe, seemingly not acknowledging Clark's presence. He was staring out into the vast skies through the window, apparently in deep and personal thought. Clark walked over to him slowly, running through his head what he was going to say. Chloe decided to give them some time to talk, and took her leave to get a coffee downstairs.

"So, - uh – how are you holding up," Clark asked as he approached Spike. Spike did not answer, but just looked out the window. Clark could only imagine what he was thinking. When most normal people look out into the open sky, they dream of being able to escape their problems by flying away into the sky where nothing could bother or upset them, but it always remained a dream. Spike must have been fighting hard not to just do what all those people dream of, and fly away to some distant place with no consequences where he could start over anew, again. The Spike who first showed up in Smallville would have done just that, or irrationally gone for the kill at Lex, but this man was not that insecure person anymore. "I know that nothing that I say can make it all okay but-"

"I'm fine Boyscout," Spike cut off Clark, turning and acknowledging his company. "I shouldn't have expected any different, but it just pisses me off so much that he had to stoop to this." Spike walked over to the sofa, picking up the day's Daily Planet and turning to the third page. There it read in large letter, "INCARCERATED CONVICT BRYCE CORREN DIES OF 'NATURAL' CAUSES IN PRISON." The article went onto describe the suspicious death of Bryce Corren in prison, and how no other evidence had been found, but his death was shrouded in foul play. Earlier that day, Chloe and Spike read that article, which lead to Spike promptly getting up and walking over to the window without a word. After ten minutes, Chloe informed Clark and asked him to come and see if he could talk to Spike, which led up to this moment. "We beat him at his own game and he pulls this! Come on! We finally have him exactly where we want him and find a legal and just way to make him pay, and I'll bet he didn't even break a sweat ordering Corren's execution. Why can God not just give me one break?" Spike collapsed onto the sofa, sweating profusely and breathing as though he were running an Olympic race. Clark did not need super hearing to tell that Spike's heart was racing.

Clark took a seat in the opposite chair and looked Spike straight into his tear-filled eyes. "I've been dealing with this problem all my life, knowing the dark truth about people, but not being able to do anything about it because they've paid up with the right people. But the one thing that I've learned is that giving up will only fuel those people to do bigger and worse things. We have to show them that no matter how much they get away with legally, we will always be there to stop them. We will always be there and be willing to die if need be to keep those we care about, and even those we don't, safe. We need to-"

"Whoah. Who said anything about dying. You and Chloe seem to have this idea that giving up your life will make the world safer in the future, but you won't be there to save it if you're dead," Spike replied frustratedly.

Clark was glad that he'd gotten Spike's mind off of Lex having Corren killed, but he was not sure that he had gone into any better of a conversation. "What about the person you save. Who's to say that they won't be the one who's needed to help out in the future? Sometimes things are greater than yourself and the things that you want." Clark was beginning to feel somewhat awkward, considering that he was usually on the other end of this conversation, but all those little talks truly made him ready for this talk.

"Maybe there are a few situations involving the fate of the world where I would be willing to die for it, but if I were face to face with saving somebody like Lex or myself, I don't think I have to tell you what I'd do."

"Maybe so," Clark responded. "But who are we to decide who lives and who dies, or who has lost the right to live or not. As much as I hate to say it, Lex is still entitled to his life, which should be in a cold cell, but it's life all the same. Letting him die would be letting him off easy." As it is with many things, it was easier to tell Spike this than to actually take his own advice. At the moment, Clark was not even sure if he would always believe this, but he knew that no matter what he thought in the future, what he said right now would always be right. "Lex is the kind of person who would leave somebody to die when he could save them, Spike, and I'm fairly sure that don't want to be like him, right?"

"Right.?" Spike answered, not truly meaning what he said and just humoring Clark to end the conversation. "Look, Clark, I need to let you know something." Spike paused, gathering his thoughts and making sure for the last time that what he was about to do was the right choice. "I'm realizing that I'm not doing any good hanging around here and that, like you said, I'm going to have to put aside what I want for right now." Clark looked at Spike, not sure of what he was going to propose doing, but he could tell that it was breaking him up inside to do it. "We can't rely on somebody to testify against Lex, otherwise they'll just end up like Corren. Somebody like you or me has to find some irrefutable evidence that not even Lex can weasel his way out of on a legal technicality. We need somebody like you or me, who will not back down in court when Lex has all the pressure on. And we especially need somebody who can make it to the court date still alive. I'm going to put everything in my life on hold until I can do that, and I'm going to put Lex away."

Clark was still not sure what Spike was implying by this. "Which means what?

"Every waking hour of every day in the future I'm going to spend tracking Lex and building a case. In doing this, I'll probably get like 2 hours of sleep in the next couple of months and I won't be able to be with anybody I care about, and that's too much for me to ask of you. I'm willing to make that sacrifice, and considering that my social life is limited to you and Chloe right now, I think I can do it."

Clark could see the determination in Spike's eyes, the refusal to give up, the need for justice, but most importantly, he did not see the need for revenge. Spike was finally ready to forsake everything until Lex was brought down. As much as he did not want to admit it, Clark knew that the people he cared about meant too much to him to give up, even if it meant bringing Lex down. Spike was the right choice, and if it was what he wanted, Clark could not stand in the way. All he could do was nod and say, "Just know that there's always a place for you in Smallville after you're done." With that Clark and he stood up, shook hands goodbye, and Clark took his exit. As he walked out, he knew that he was probably not going to see Spike for quite some time and not be able to be there if he lost control again, but he also knew that Spike had finally come to terms with the difference between justice and revenge. As Clark walked out of the room, seeing Spike for the last time, he knew that Spike was ready for whatever came at him, and that the world is fortunate to have him.

Five minutes later, Chloe reentered the room with a spring inn her step due to her recent caffeine fix, but was once again brought back down as she remembered how Spike felt at the time. He was gathering his wallet, phone, and red jacket that he borrowed from Clark. Chloe politely asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," Spike answered, still gathering his things and making his way towards the door.

"Whoa there fly boy, where do you think you're going. Lex owns this place, remember? He could be down there right now." 

"It really doesn't matter now, considering that I'm not coming back." Spike's tone was very matter of fact and without emotion, but Chloe could see that that was no how Spike felt inside.

"What do you mean, 'not coming back,'" Chloe asked, even though she already could tell what he was going to say.

In an instant, Spike's emotionless and apathetic posture gave in to his true feelings. His hands started shaking more than a junky without their fix, and Chloe could see the inner turmoil in his face. "I – uh – have to go away for a while." Never before had Chloe or anybody seen such regret in Spike before. He had always been the "there on minute, gone the next without a word" type of guy, but everybody has something that could break their defenses and bring out a side that nobody ever sees, and Spike was looking into the eyes of that person right now.

"What do mean for a while, and why?" Chloe asked, more to try to make him change his mind than truly find out why.

"Lex has made it clear that nobody is going to bring him down when they have to come home for dinner and spend time with friends. It's going to have to be a full-time job. So until that's done, I'm probably not going to be around." Spike blurted these words out rapidly, hoping that it would make them easier to say or to not feel the impact of what they meant. It didn't. He could see the disbelief and heartbreak in Chloe as he added on, "It's probably going to be a couple months, maybe years before I get enough to put him behind bars for life." It was now that it hit Spike at what he was saying, it could be years before he sees Chloe's smile again. It could be years before he sat there, waiting for her to come home, it could be years before they bounce ideas off each other on random computer programming theory.

At this moment, the two embraced each others arms simultaneously and held on tight, as if their grip could keep them inseparable forever. Spike would like nothing more than to kiss her before he left, but she had a boyfriend, and he would not want her to betray him like that. Maybe in another life, maybe if they had more time or fewer responsibilities, they could have been. Spike knew that no matter how much he cared for her and would be willing to wait for her, Lex would not, and he needed to be stopped now. Duty and passion fought it out in his mind, but he knew the result before it began. As he let go of her for the last time, he whispered in her ear gently, "I hope he makes you happy." Not indicating Jimmy, Clark, or even himself, but just that special somebody in her future who could give her everything she deserved and more. He would so much like to be that guy, but sometimes things are greater than yourself and what you want. Spike finally realized what Clark meant by that as we walked out the doorway, tears in his eyes, not knowing that this would be the last time he would ever see her.

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

CH12 Hero

_Outside Luthor Mansion, a few months later, between Prototype and Phantom_

Spike stood outside the Luthor mansion, just out of range of sight, but close enough to keep an eye on it. He was closer than the average person would be to feel safe when keeping tabs on their enemy, but Spike was no average person. If any spotted him, he'd be in Vegas, LA, New York, or anywhere of his choosing in a matter of hours. This was his gift: the ability to escape from or handle any situation, and be anywhere without consequences. The pattern of every gift being granted with a price stays true with him as well, and with his extraordinary gift came an extraordinary price. He has constantly wished that he could go back and change things, even willing to give up his great privilege in order to know that his family is alive. He was done running and done hurting, ready to put everything else aside, including the one who stole his heart, until everything was set right. This is what he reminded himself every day for the past few months as he tailed Lex, broke into secure buildings and computer files, and followed any lead to incriminating Lex, but found nothing concrete. For a man who has done so many wrongs in his life, Lex had done even better at concealing them from prying eyes.

Spike had occasionally called Clark to see how things were going and to ask for anything that's worth following, but rarely learned anything that he did not already know. Spike could tell that Clark thought he was pushing too hard and too far without an ally, but Spike could not bring himself to tell Clark where he was. He would constantly justify himself thinking that Clark had enough problems right now with his ex married to his worst enemy and everything happening, but it did not make it any easier to keep Clark in the dark when Spike knew that he could help.

The opening of the Luthor Mansion front door snapped Spike back into the present. Lex himself walked out and took his time as he walked to his car. Right before he opened it, Lana came out as well and kissed her husband goodbye as he went off to "work." She had a strange expression on her face as they parted, one of restrained. It was not hard to imagine somebody being unhappy when they live under a Luthor household, but Spike found it strange that one, whom Chloe described to be very strong, would marry a man who made her feel this way. _That would be another question for another day _thought Spike as he stepped out of hid behind one of the Luthor Mansion trees. Spike had a strange feeling about this day, like something immense was going to happen, but not sure of this would be good or bad. His gut instincts were typically correct in these instances, which made him wary of what this day would hold.

Lex drove himself out of the property, onto the streets, and eventually onto the highway. Spike was in pursuit in the skies, and could follow Lex at any speed anywhere, but had the hindrance of not being spotted by anybody. He would constantly have to duck around signs, fences, trees, cornfields, or anything near to him when any other bystanders were present. His tailing was at a very large distance from his subject, but it did not take long to catch up when he had to wait for a clear path.

The pursuit was very uneventful and without any strange routes taken, until Lex exited the freeway and entered onto a gravel road. In all of Spike's travels, he had become quite exceptional when it came to geography and physics, and he could not recall any place of significance in the direction that they were both headed. Granted he had not memorized the Kansas map, but his gut feeling confirmed that Lex had finally gotten sloppy. The road was surrounded by a forest of trees, which allowed for an effective cover. Spike felt fortunate that his very limited wardrobe consisted of orangish-brown shirt and a dark-green shirt. _I feel like Aqua-bro_ Spike joked to himself. For about a half-hour, Spike followed his prey until the road showed a sign of promise as it became concrete. Spike stopped, confident that they both had reached the final destination, and walked to the edge of the forest to peer at, what seemed to be, Lex's base of operations. It was a large dam overlooking the vast trees that the two of them had gone through. _Of course. If you're going to plan world domination and the downfall of the human race, why not do it in a large abandoned dam. He better hope that that thing doesn't collapse or we would be seriously screwed._

Spike's hands were sweating in anticipation. All these years of pain and aloneness about to be avenged. He had hundreds of scenarios going through his head for all the possible situations he may encounter in these next few moments. For a moment he contemplated calling in Clark or Oliver's team, but this was personal.

As Lex entered the complex, Spike super-sped to catch the door just before it closed. After waiting for the resounding footsteps of Lex to subside, he entered himself, wary of any camera's along the way. Security seemed surprisingly minimal for such large scale project, but Lex would not want too many knowing where he worked. This would make things much simpler. The first few hallways led to dead ends and an empty laboratory. After a quick sweep for anything of interest in the lab, where he found nothing, he continued his search for anything that would explain what Lex was doing.

It felt like hours walking down every corridor and through every door, but a quick check of his watch showed it had only been ten minutes. Except for one guard, who did not bother to even check the corridors as Spike walked by, there had been no sign of life in the dam. Spike reached a corner of a split in pathways when he heard approaching footsteps from around the right corner. Sliding up against the wall, he estimated the man to be about 210 to 230 pounds by the sound of his footsteps and would be approaching the intersection of the corridors in approximately three seconds. 3. 2. 1. Spike quickly yet quietly came out from behind the guard as he passed and reached around his neck, covering the mouth. In a single, strong, swift movement, Spike brought up knee into the man's chest, knocking all the air out of him. Spike's hand that had covered the most of the grunt, released and battered the guard's cheek bone. There was a definite crack in the jaw as the fist made impact and the man collapsed unconscious on the floor with blood spewing from his mouth. In a moment's time, Spike dragged the unconscious man to the entrance door where he came in, making sure to remember his path to where he was at, and left him on the ground. _Should be done with this before he wakes up._

Spike retraced his steps to the split where he was at and followed the right pathway where the guard came from. As he made his way down the hallway, a door opened with a somewhat plump man in laboratory coat exiting. Reflexively, Spike activated his ability and raised his body to the roof, flat against the ceiling. He felt like Ethan Hunt of Mission Impossible. Fortunately, the clueless man walked right beneath with his full attention on a clipboard with charts and figures. Spike could not help but think j_ackass_. For the defining moment of his life, he even seemed to himself to be taking it quite humorously and lightly, but he never forgot why he was doing this. After the oblivious man in the coat turned a corner and walked away, Spike placed himself back on the ground and walked to the surprisingly large door where the scientist exited from. Spike's ability to fly lied in his manipulation of his density and the gravity on his body, but after some time in his life, he learned that he could do this to other objects as well. This is how he could lift cars and hurt Clark, by lowering the density of their structure to make it light, weak and vulnerable. With a simple touch to the door and a moment of concentration, it became like cardboard as he pushed it through the doorway. After it was released from his grasp and lie on the floor, it instantaneously returned to its original properties. Fortunately there was little sound in this process because the door weighed very little as it hit the ground.

As Spike entered, he took notice of the stereotypical lab with the computers, the microscopes, and the test tubes, but he also noticed a window pain with a large room behind it. Without a moment's hesitation, Spike shattered the glass, similar to how he tore apart the door, and entered, making sure to hover over the loose glass on the floor. As he walked through the room, he saw the same faces and the same people throughout over and over on small stretcher-like objects. The room was filled with them, stacked on top of each other to the roof to fit more in. _Cloning. So that's what you're up to. I get the feeling that if you can create multiple copies of the same person, then these are probably not normal people either._ There was one on the far end of the rows that stuck out to Spike because of the longer hair of the clone. Upon reaching it, he realized that it was not the same person as the others, but Lana Luthor. _You sick bastard_ he thought referring to Lex. Now he realized why Lana looked the way she did earlier. She probably does not know about this, but this is probably not the only thing that he has done to her either.

Spike did not have this in mind when he went through all of his possible scenarios earlier, but he knew what he had to do. Destroying all of these clones would do nothing if Lex has more samples to make them out of somewhere else. He would have to take out the entire dam to end this operation once and for all. It would be surprisingly simple for Spike to do this for such a drastic feat. All he would have to do is find a wall close to the water, use his ability to weaken it, let the water come through and flood the place, get everybody out before it does, and use his ability to strengthen the other side of the dam so that it does completely collapse. The only problem is that he never completely and successfully used his powers to increase the density of an object, but he had almost done it before and he knew that he could do it now. He would just have to hope that he got everybody out before he leaves, but he had no intention of risking his own more than he had to to save one of Lex's men. They must have known what they were getting into when they were brought to a secret dam with weird experiments everywhere.

Fortunately, nobody heard or came to the lab where Spike was, so he calmly exited the clone room and returned to the lab to use one of the computers. For one of few times in his life, being a complete geek and computer genius had been more helpful than brute strength. Not so computer savvy people tend to believe that a simple password entry will keep everybody out of their system, but Spike has always had a knack for going places where he does not belong and this included encrypted computer files. He easily overcame all security measures and passwords to log in and find a general map of the dam. Considering that it was only a map of the dam, there was little security placed on it to begin with. Taking in the paths and walls of the dam, Spike determined the best place to weaken the dam and how to get there as well. Anti-climactically, it was a locker room for the security guards' belongings.

In seconds, he reached this location and entered. He was beginning to become very thankful for the minimal encounters he had throughout this break-in. The door was like that of the lab he was just in, with a strong frame and air-tight, but it held a small square window in the middle. The door was unlocked, considering that it was just a locker room, so there was no need to smash it in. The locker room was in an "L" shape with a set of lockers and another in the back round around a corner. The far wall was without lockers as was the optimal location that Spike chose. Near the back of the dam so that there would be time to get everybody out, but not too far that it could be stopped. Spike made his way across the room in small strides, trying to prolong this moment to remember it forever. He was glad that this was not all just about getting even with Lex, but about stopping a greater threat and giving a moral purpose to what he was doing. Lex may find some way to weasel out of prison with some loop-hole in the law, but he cannot rebuild what Spike was about to destroy. As he reached the far wall, he gently pressed his palms to it and began to concentrate. It was easier than weakening Clark's body, but much more difficult than weakening pretty much anything else. He could feel the walls begin to weaken and see the strain on them as he exponentially deteriorated it.

As he was nearly ready to leave, he heard a footstep at the door and a cold voice. "You're not an easy kid to pin down, but it seems you're in a fairly confined space now." It was Lex, confident, and without a hint of joy in his voice.

Spike smiled, somewhat maliciously, and turned to Lex. "Yeah. Why don't you shut the door and leave me here to rot," he weakly suggested.

"You'd like that wouldn't you. Then might throat would be in your hands ten seconds later after you demolish it like you did to my lab's one." This was suggesting that Lex knew where Spike had been and what he had seen.

The atmosphere of the room was indescribable. Two arch-nemeses for years in the same room, knowing full well that each would like to and could kill the other. Lex finally entered through the doorway, far enough to be in the room, but not allowing an exit except through him. Spike had imagined this situation for years and it always ended up with Lex's battered and dead body sprawled across the floor, but not this time. This time he wanted them both to make it out and for his enemy to experience true defeat.

"I wasn't just touching that wall for my health you know," Spike added. "This entire dam's going to be flooded after that wall gives way in a little bit and unless you plan on arriving early for your reservation in Hell, I suggest you make for the hills." He was not bluffing. He had not completely weakened the wall of the dam, but it would cave in very soon from the stress.

Lex did not say anything, indicating that he did not believe this. Without shifting his glance from Spike, he pulled a gun from a holster in his suit and pointed it at his opponent. Spike had never seen this type of gun before, but he did not have time to be fascinated by it either. Very unconcernedly and without response, Spike chuckled to himself at the turn of events. Lex did not have to say anything for Spike to know that he wanted to ask what was so funny.

"It's funny how things turned out," Spike said. Lex did not take his aim off of Spike's heart. "I am the one on the quest of vengeance and you end up being the one to try and kill me in our last few moments of life." Spike paused to let this sink in with Lex. "I would have thought that it would be the other way around."

Lex did not seem to be affected by this comment, except for a smile spreading across his face as well. "Unfortunately, you are the only one who is going to be dying today," Lex stated as he squeezed the trigger. The average bullet moves over 1000 feet per second; Spike narrowly evaded this one with his great speed. As the bullet passed, he made a lurch in the air towards Lex to try and disarm arm him, but was met with another bullet fired. In the air and with such immediate reflexes, Spike made for a difficult target to hit, but not impossible. In the very enclosed room that they were in, his flight patterns were very crude and limited, which made his dodging of the bullet fire much more difficult. After three attempts to take the attack to Lex and having to pull back to avoid being shot, Spike retreated around the corner of the "L" in the room. Now being protected by the wall, he could relax for a moment.

Lex's firing ceased, which allowed Spike to speak his mind. Even in the midst of this lethal battle, he found himself humorously commenting on his unfortunate circumstances. "You know, The Matrix makes that look so much simpler than it actually is," he joked to Lex around the corner. Spike heard the cracks in the wall coming in larger and larger and he knew that Lex could not deny that Spike was not bluffing earlier. At the same moment, Spike and Lex saw the water finally come crashing through the wall at a great velocity. If Spike stayed in this room for too much longer, he would drown or be crushed by the water. It was time to take a chance.

Spike kicked in his flight ability faster than ever before and made the turn around the corner in the room. The water pressure from the crack in the wall made the incoming water fill up very fast and hit Spike in the back with immense force as he made his flight towards the door. He saw Lex standing there, in shock of his imminent death if he did not move, and unable to do anything except keep firing his weapon. The bullets passed by Spike quickly as he raced towards the exit. He began to feel the effects of adrenaline, speeding up the mind in an intense situation and allowing a person to react much quicker. He all of a sudden felt a searing burn in his chest, but he ignored it and pushed it aside in order to be able to get out alive. As he reached where Lex stood, time almost seemed to stop as he was forced to make a choice. Lex had his parents and mentor murdered, and completely butchered his life ever since, but did he truly deserve to die. It's true that Spike would not have directly killed him and he would probably be able to live with it if he left him there to drown. No matter how much Spike convinced himself in this moment that it was justice and that he's just doing what Lex would do in his situation, he could not bring himself to let Lex died. With his full body and velocity, Spike rammed Lex out of the doorway as the water came crashing through it. It was at this moment that the burning pain in Spike's chest won over Spike and he collapsed on the floor, with the water level slowly rising above his face. With all the strength in his body, Spike looked up and saw Lex standing there outside the door, more than capable of carrying Spike and himself to safety. Whether it be in blind hope or belief in the good in humanity, Spike believed that Lex would not let him die and that he would have mercy, but none was found. Lex pressed the switch and the door shut, leaving Spike in the room with the water from the dam filling it about one-quarter of the way so far.

Spike got to his knees and looked down to see red filtered throughout the water, emanating from his chest where the burning was. One of the bullets pierced his chest, barely an inch from his heart. This was the end and there was nothing he or anybody could do about it. With every bit of strength and energy in him, and then some, Spike stood with great pain and walked to the door through the knee-deep water. He looked through the window pain and saw Lex's face on the other side, watching as Spike was about to die. Spike could feel little bits of his life wasting away from his chest as he stood there, but he knew that he still had a little bit of time left.

Fully aware that Lex could not hear him through the door or the window, Spike began to speak hoarsely and with great strain. "I bet you wonder why I saved you instead of myself." Spiked coughed for a moment, spewing up a little blood in his mouth. "I've been trying to find something that separates me from you. What makes me different or more just in my quest compared to yours?" Spike took a moment to gather as much breath as he could. Lex was still at the window, watching and comprehending some of what Spike was saying. "I saved you when you wouldn't save me. That's the difference and that's how I know that we're different. Despite all that we've done and all of the terrible things that we do, it is the remorse and will to try to do good that makes me better than you." The water levels were at half of the room. Talking more to himself now than to Lex, Spike added, "It's just a shame that it cost me my life to find out."

On the other side of the door, Lex watched with a great sense of accomplishment and no regret of how things turned out. _Stupid ass _Lex thought to himself about Spike as he walked away from the room. While making his way back to his work as if nothing happened, he ordered a crew to come and seal off the locker room and make sure that there is no chance of the water getting through and flooding the dam's infrastructure.

As Spike lay dying in the almost completely filled confinement, he removed his cell-phone from his pocket. It had been in the water, but he was relieved to find it working. He was now paddling, excruciatingly painfully and with every ounce of strength he had, to stay afloat as the water rushed in incessantly. Every movement seemed to empty more and more of his life, but it would all be worth it if he could make this call. Even in the event of him dying from a bullet wound and drowning, he managed to hastily dial the number of the one person who he wanted to speak to last in his life. In seconds, which felt like hours in his condition, the other end picked up.

"_Hello?"_

"Chlo – e," Spike managed to whimper out.

"_Spike!? Are you okay? Where are you?" _she asked on the other end.

"It doesn't matter Chlo." Spike found himself barely able to speak, but his motivation overcame his pain. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all that I've done and for pulling out on you. I'm sorry for everything." Spike had never openly let himself be so vulnerable and revealing, yet another truth that it took his life to learn. He also found it truly amazing that the call went through in the interior of a dam, but could care less about how it happened as long as it happened.

"_It's okay. Really. You don't sound so hot. Let me pick you up."_

"That won't be necessary Chlo. –just wanted to say thank you, for everything. You and Clark helped me realize that all of us were meant to live for more than grudges and revenge. I would say I owe you my life, but that doesn't really count for much right now anyways." For the first time in years, Spike allowed a single tear to fall from his face. A single tear from all of his hardships and all of his pain, finally being released from him, no longer enslaving him to a confused and meaningless life. 

Chloe began to realize that this was not a call for help, but a final word. She rarely found herself at a loss for words, but she could not find anything to say that would show how she felt right then. She still loved Jimmy, but Spike always had a special place in her heart. "I, I don't know what-". She could not finish the sentence. Tears came poring down from her as well. Tears of loss, love, and joy as well for all the times they had together.

The water levels were inches from the ceiling and Spike could barely raise his mouth out of water, but he had to speak. He knew that hiss time left on this plane was down to seconds. He had millions of things that he wanted to say, but the most fitting that he could think of was, "Live long, and prosper." With that, Spike passed on, witty to the end, fighting to the end, hero to the end.

EPILOGUE:

Some may find Spike's life, and death, to be pointless and failing in his life's mission. However, his journey and his mission in life was not to bring down Lex, that he invented himself, but to find the good in himself that he thought he had lost forever. He touched the lives of many people, some for good and some for bad, but always had good intentions at heart. The tragedy of Spike Starkum is not that he died at his enemy's hand, but that he had to pass on to finally see that there is good in him and everybody. His body was never removed from the room by Lex for fear of flooding the entire dam, and was lost after the dam's destruction. A plaque and inscription was made by Clark in the future Justice League Headquarters as a homage to Spike. It reads, "Spike Starkum: Friend, Ally, a true Superman."

THE END


End file.
